How to make a Friend
by TheFuriousNightFury
Summary: Hiccup is a misfit in the underground. This is him telling you his story, and how he changed the whole world. This story is inspired by Wall-E, How to train your Dragon, Five Nights At Freddy's (which is only a minor part), The city of Ember, and, funnily enough, Frankenstein.
1. This is a beginning

**Before you congratulate me on an amazing AU, it isn't my idea. I saw an amazing fanart of a robotic Toothless and a short intro to this AU on a blog I follow, KingOfTheWilderWest. I don't know who's it is, but this is my take on it. Thank you for inspiring me and this is my way of giving you credit.**

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This is the underground. It's deep, it's dark, it's dangerous. When the lights turn out, you can almost hear the darkness pressing in. We have underground farming, fishing, and almost no one can ever remember seeing a sunset, never mind the sun. The real problems are the AI. The monsters that attack us if they find a way down here. We defend against them, as this is the only place we are safe. If you count fearing for your life daily safe. Everyone says the surface is a terrible place, and any who try to get to it don't return.

That's where I come in.

I'm here to tell you the story of the end of the war. How I changed this world. How I made a friend.

My name is Hiccup. Great name, I know. I'm not happy about it, but it's an old tradition to name runts Hiccup. Stupid tradition, if you ask me. I'm a sarcastic kid with a side of sass. Extra sass. You ask me a question, you'll get a sassy answer. Unless I'm in a good mood. Which I rarely am. And the reason for that is? Everything. Trust me, you'll get why.

It all started a month after my fifteenth birthday. As usual, I had trudged to the blacksmith shop for some extra metal, which I can pick up without questions asked. I grabbed a large pile and walked back home, dashing up the stairs to my room. Stormfly, one of my personal AI, needed work. Her wing had fallen off, she needed a replacement. I was an inventor, a builder, you could say. I took scrap parts from other AI that the guard had killed and made them into my own friendly robots. Stormfly was my favorite, a dragon looking one of my own design. She could even fly. She didn't have much personality, but I wouldn't have traded her for anything.

Hold on, let me explain something.

AI stands for Artificial Intelligents. They are robots that can think. Our ancestors created them hundreds of years ago. They went berserk one day and all but wiped out the human race. We live in one of many underground colonies, ours is named Berk. Once again with the names, right? Anyway. Usually, I wouldn't try to create machines out of fear of them turning against me. But I was desperate for friends. I'm not the most popular kid in the underground. In fact, probably the opposite. So, I created my own AI. Storm. Then, I created Stormfly from her. She's the only friend I have.

Now, with that in mind, let me continue.

I had finished fixing her wing, doing it quickly due to my familiarity with machines. If anyone found out, I'd be banished, I know that. But what else am I supposed to do? I don't want to die alone.

I turned Stormfly off and went downstairs the moment I heard my father's voice. He came in, barely sparing me a glance before going into his room. He's not a huge man, but he's bigger than me. Everyone calls him Stoick. I know he used to have another name. He's the leader of our colony. And my only related family. Although, you can hardly tell. He barely talks to me, and when he does, it's usually disappointed words, or something along the lines of 'Why couldn't I have a big beefy son that can kill AI?' Any other words he says regarding me are usually complaints to another person behind my back.

That's my life.

So, getting a sudden brain wave of how to get his approval once and for all, I take Stormfly, a knife, and leave the house. I head for outside the colony limits, where I might just find AI. Hopefully just one, only somewhat bigger than me and easy to kill. Best idea I ever had.

So, with Stormfly perched on me, I move through the caves, slightly nervous. I hear a slight whirr, the sound of hydraulics. All I'm thinking is 'That wasn't Stormfly.' I look up, and a winged AI is above me. It stares down at me through cold eyes. Stormfly lets out a simulated growl. She doesn't like this thing anymore than I do. It drops down in front of me, simply staring at me. It pulls back a clawed hand and swipes at me. I yelp, backing up. Stormfly leaps forward, metal meeting metal with a nice clanky 'How do you do.' They both fall over and Stormfly attacks it, snapping a couple of metal bars. I move in with my knife and cut its main cord, the one connecting its motor to its artificial brain. It goes limp immediately, leaking fluid and fuel all over me. I back up, panting. Stormfly shuts off automatically, leaving me alone. After a moment, I pick up Stormfly and run home.

It could have killed me had Stormfly had been a moment slower, I realize that now.

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 **Please review!**


	2. Disappointment, death, and decision

Once I made it home, I put Stormfly upstairs in my room, then went to find my dad. I find him talking with some other people about making a better water system. I wait patiently for him to be done. He turns to me.

"What is it, Hiccup?"

"I uh... I killed an AI."

He rolls his eyes. His whole face says 'Yeah right.'

"It's not like the last few times, dad! I actually did kill one!" I say, motioning wildly.

The people he was talking to laugh loudly and walk off. He glares at me under his thick brown eyebrows. Despite the neat beard and mustache, I can tell he's frowning. He runs a hand through his ruffled hair.

"Hiccup. You are many things, but a AI killer is not one of them. Now, I'm busy." He begins to leave.

I clench my fists. "For once in your life, would you just give me a chance?"

He turns and looks at me. Our pairs of emerald eyes meet. His disappointed scowl fades. For a moment, I even wonder if I can see love in his eyes. I doubt it moments later when he turns and keeps walking, his leather cape following him as he goes. I scowl at thin air for a good ten minutes, frustrated. My fists are still clenched, my knuckles white.

I hated him in that moment. He just wouldn't give me a chance.

I turned, and began to stomp to my house. As I move to open the door, there is a blast. The roof of my house blasts open and a blue and yellow blur flies out. Stormfly. She begins to attack the other houses, blasting holes in the metal roofs easily. I run to follow her. To try and get her to stop. Someone yells attack. We're under attack. An arrow hits Stormfly, and she falls, hitting the ground. Before I can reach her, my dad comes up and pulls her circuit board out of her head. She falls limp. NO. I run up, grabbing her without even thinking. I hear a surprised noise from everyone. I head to the house, getting up the stairs in record time. I grab parts and begin to repair her. I put the circuit board back in. I press the on switch, giving her electricity. She jerks and goes still. She doesn't move at all. I try this over and over. She's broken beyond repair. I collapse on her, crying.

I had lost her. She went beserk and I lost her.

I hear the door open. Barely. I hide her under my bed, and turn as my dad enters the room. He looks around for a moment. He rarely comes into my room. He doesn't seem to notice that there are scrap parts all over my bed, plans for AI on my walls, other ones already built and turned off in the corners covered in tarps. All he notices is me. What a change of pace. I'm terrified he'll realize what I've been doing for the past seven years. Inventing machines. I manage a wobbly grin.

"Hey, dad. What are you doing here? You never come to my room." Which is why I keep my inventing a secret so well. Because you don't pay attention to me.

He stares at me. "Why did you grab that AI?" He is looking more curious then anything.

"I wanted it raw this time." I lie. "Usually, the parts from the shop are pulled apart. I wanted one generally undamaged for parts." Saying these words hurts. Stormfly will never work again.

He nods. He begins to glance around my room, beginning to take interest from everything around us. I begin to panic. Will he realize what's in here? He looks at the drawings, the plans for Stormfly and others I've created.

"What are these?"

"Schematics." I say the word as if it doesn't matter. Which it does, everything I've made needs a plan first. "Nothing fancy."

"Oh." He nods.

There is a very awkward silence, then he turns to leave. Of course. I stare at the door as it closes, bittersweet feelings moving through me. I have to lie to him the one time he actually gets curious. I throw the scrap metal in the bin, then begin to pick through Stormfly for salvageable parts. Every time I pull something off, it feels like it actually hurts me.

I grab some paper and begin to draw in bed. At first all I draw are unintelligible scribbles with no meaning. I begin to draw Stormfly. My way of saying goodbye. Then I begin to change her bit by bit, softening her head spikes and making them rounder, and only making eight of them. There are two smaller ones in the center, bigger ones beside them, then they slowly get smaller. I like the design. Her head becomes more of an oval shape, flat on the top with small spikes. I add another pair of legs, and shorten the height. I add more of a chest. The wings lose the fancy spikes and become more streamlined, long and tapered. Another couple of wings, smaller, join the bigger ones. The tail spikes organize into neat lines down the sides of the tail. I add a pair of fins at the back. What could I do to make this one unique? I add retractable teeth. I giggle and roll my eyes. Silly idea, but it's cute.

Suddenly, I realize.

I just designed a whole new dragon. A whole new AI. It's beautiful and sleek. I run a finger along the line that marks it's spine. I decide to create it. Grabbing more paper, I begin to design my new AI. I draw in all the parts that will make it go. Hydraulics for movement. An engine. Wires. Metal bones and a rubbery skin over top. It's perfect. I decide to make it bigger then all the others I've ever created. Which means I can't build it in my room, or anywhere in the village, for that matter.

I decided to undertake this project in the caves outside the colony limits.

This is where it all started.


	3. Frankenstein

**Disclaimer: I took creative liberties and made a character of my own. He doesn't completely replace the character he's partially based off. So don't go all crazy at me in the reviews. XD**

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It took me a while to get everything into the cave I had chosen. I began work on my new AI, which I had code named T.

Wait, I forgot to tell you what I look like.

Well, what I _looked_ like.

I'm a skinny boy with a messy head of brown hair like my father. I have bunches of freckles gracing my cheeks, a button nose, and emerald green eyes. I'm usually wearing a green shirt, a brown vest, a belt, dark green pants and a pair of brown boots.

I look nothing like I used to. But more on that later.

Now. I want to tell you about my enemy. My worst enemy, other than the AI. His name is Richard. He's a strong, lean boy with even messier hair than me. He openly mocks me, constantly naming my faults. Great guy. Like I said, he's strong. He could probably hold up the stone ceiling if it collapsed. He's in training with a bunch of the other teens in the underground. Whoever wins gets to join the guard.

The guard. A lot of hardheaded brutes who attack anything that moves. They protect us from the constant threat of AI, so I guess they're worth something.

Oh, and Astrid. She's amazing. She's agile, athletic, and can cut off an AI's head in a single swipe. She's beautiful. Golden hair, blazing blue eyes, and a strong will. Every boy has a crush on her, or has at one point. I'm one of them.

She and Richard are the main contenders for training. None of the others stand a chance. Fish? A short thin boy with a scruffy head of hair. He has no more muscles than me, I don't understand how he's in training and I'm not. Ruff and Tuff? Twins who fight each other more than the AI. None of them stand a chance. Fish is a nerd like me, and knows how to hit a machine where it hurts. But he runs from it the moment it acknowledges his existence.

So now, I'm all but finished T. He's missing something, though.

But what?

Only the very thing that changed this world.

The thing I invented.

A CAE.

Conscience and emotion.

A chip that can help a AI feel.

I stayed up all night designing it the moment I thought of it. When I get back to the cave, I throw off the tarp that covers him. I feel like Frankenstein, looking at his monster for the first time. And we all know how that story ended. The monster went berserk, killing everyone Frankenstein loved. They died together in the arctic, alone. Frankenstein was mad. I'm not mad, but I share something else with him. Creating creatures from the parts of others.

I place the chip in T's head, on his electronic brain, bolting it in place.

He's almost done.

I turn on his motor, giving him electricity.

Nothing. I put a hand on his nose.

"Live. Please. Live."

Not a twitch.

"Live!" I yell, frustrated.

I collapse from exhaustion.

Hours later, I awoke. The cave was still lit from the outside, so the lights must still be on. I look at the worktable T sits on expectantly. He's still there, still as stone. I mutter frustratedly. I had hoped he would at least be moving.

In Frankenstein, the monster had been gone from the chains.

I was frustrated, for sure, but maybe I had missed something. I decided to stay all night and keep working. I moved to turn him off, and my hand rested on his nose.

His eyes shot open.

I yelped in fear, backing up and falling over. He turned to stare at me. He seemed to stare into my soul.

"Uh.. you.. you're alive.."

He blinked but didn't react otherwise.

I stood up slowly and stared back. "I did it. Oh yes, I did it!"

He stood up too, hydraulics whirring as he did. He began to move forward.

I stepped back. "Uh.."

He continued forward, stepping off the worktable and following me. He moved forward, matching every step I took backwards. I was beginning to panic. I fell over again, his eyes inches from my face. I knew he could kill me.

"I created you.. don't hurt me! Don't!"

He stopped, staring.

He made a noise. It sounded like.. 'dkt'.

I had given him a voice chip with prerecorded noises. Growls, grunts, snorts. Bellows, snarls, roars.

Of all the noises he could make, the first one he makes is almost human.

Human.

Human...?

He had used his voice chip to create a simple noise, making it sound different using the shape of his mouth. Like a human did.

He began to repeat the noise over and over, as if it meant something to him.

"Dkt. Dkt! Dokt! Donk! Don't!"

I froze. Don't. He said 'don't'.

He said it again, giving me a pleading look. He wanted my approval.

So I grinned.

And he mimicked me.

I laughed.

And he copied me.

I decided to get him a language chip. One that held programming for the English language. Many Animatronics had them. All I had to do was get one.

So I did. I got one and put it in him.

And he learned to speak almost instantly.

He asked me all sorts of questions.

Who am I?

What am I?

Where am I?

Who are you?

And I answered all of them.

Over the next few weeks, I taught him what it meant to be a friend, what family meant, what killing and sparing meant, why we were so different, why I made him, manners, loyalty.

He was a fast learner.

I named him Toothless.

There are times when I really miss those simple days with him.

He could truly feel. He felt emotions for me. Love. He protected me. And I loved him back, more than anyone I had ever loved before.

Anyone.


	4. Traitor

Things were going peachy. Wonderful, even.

I taught Toothless to use his wings and fly, even though we couldn't go very far down here.

Let me tell you something else. Something that haunts me to this day.

My mother. She was taken, years ago, by an AI. I was only a few months old. I remember her screams. I may have been a baby, but I remember them. I remember my father cursing them forever, telling them he would not rest until he killed every single AI on the planet.

And he hasn't forsaken that promise once.

I was heading home after a long session with Toothless. I was rounding a corner just beyond the cave I kept him in. I bumped straight into a figure and fell over. Both of us let out a yelp of surprise. I looked up at the thin, lean figure. Wearing a red tunic and some fancy armor, staring down at me with a disapproving glare, was Richard.

"Skinny! I found you!"

I stood up. I hated that nickname. "Good job." I pushed past him and began to head home.

He stopped me by grabbing the scruff of my shirt.

"Where do you think you're going, skinny? I want answers. Now. Where have you been disappearing to for the last month?"

I winced.

"What do you care, bulky?"

I felt frustration beginning to build.

"I want to know what's going on. Now."

"I'm going for a walk." I lied.

Richard didn't seem impressed. "Yeah, nice try. I want to know what's really going on." He pulled me down and planted a boot on my chest.

I wiggled under his leg. I knew it was hopeless. The only option would be to run.

"Well?" He pulled out a knife, to my horror.

"No! What I do is my private business!"

He held up a piece of paper. One of my plans for an AI. "Oh, really?" He had such a smirk. It made me want to punch him.

I knew I should have hid those schematics better.

My face turned to pure terror. "No." I choked.

His face practically turned into an evil scowl. "You traitorous little..."

I was shaking. "It's not what you think!"

"You're making machines. Just wait till I tell your dad about this."

"No!" I struggled harder, throwing him off balance.

He tipped, and I took my chance to roll to the side. I stood up and tried to take the paper back, only to stop when he points his knife at me.

"You traitor. I should kill you right now. If I had the authority. If it was up to me. I always knew you were trouble. You're going to be in big trouble. I think banishment is too good for you."

I slowly raised my hands. "Let me explain. Please." I was buying time. I knew no explanation could convince him.

He narrowed his eyes. A long silence drew out. I gulped.

He nodded. "This ought to be good."

I took a deep breath. "I create machines, yes. I make them from spare parts from other machines that the guard kills. I create them to be friendly, and I reprogram them to be helpful whenever possible. Can you understand?"

He raised an eyebrow. "And the one that attacked a month ago? The one you grabbed and took back inside?"

I froze. He was holding the schematic for Stormfly.

"The one that looks just like this?" He pointed to the schematic.

"It malfunctioned." I said. "I had no control over that."

He scoffed. "And what about all the others? What if they 'lose control' too? What will you do then?"

I stopped mid word, my jaw half open. The response I had faded. "Uh.."

"Exactly." He gave a smug nod. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

I clenched my fists. "I needed friends somehow." I began to cry.

He seemed to stop.

After a long moment of hesitation, I looked up at him.

"I want to show you something."


	5. I made a friend

I will never forget what happened that day. Not as long as I live.

Richard followed me into Toothless's cave. He saw all the machines and parts lining the walls and floor. He saw Toothless, shut off in the center of the floor. I looked back at Richard. He gaped at everything in the room all at once.

"Oh.. my..."

I couldn't help but smirk.

"You MADE this?" He said, his voice squeaky.

"Yeah." I shrugged. I moved up to Toothless, running a hand down his spine.

Richard moved slowly up to the motionless FAI.

Feeling Artificial Intelligent.

Because he feels.

Richard seemed terrified but curious. He moved a hand to Toothless's snout, and quickly pulled it away as if he expected it to bite him. He moved a hand forward again and touched it.

"Don't worry, he won't bite you unless you hurt me." I smiled at him.

Richard turned his amazed expression toward me. "Really..?"

He stopped. He pulled back. His face changed from wonder to anger.

"You made another one. A monster. Look at this thing! It could kill a man!" His voice shook. "You.. you..." His face turned dark. "You monster creator." He backed away, then turned and ran.

"Richard, wait!" I facepalmed. "Duh duh duh, I'm dead." I turned to Toothless. "We're dead."

I was about to follow him. I realized I couldn't stop him from blowing everything alone. I powered up Toothless. I got on his back and motioned for him to fly. He nodded and ran out of the cave. As we flew, I explained the situation.

Then, I spotted Richard.

"Grab him."

"Okay." Toothless swooped down and grabbed Richard.

The boy let out screams that could wake the dead.

We flew up the wall of the main cave, placed him ungraciously on a thin ledge, then landed on it ourselves.

"Hiccup, you get me down RIGHT NOW!" Richard screamed. He was pale as a ghost, shaking and clinging to the rock wall as if it was the only thing keeping him on the planet.

I got off of Toothless and reached out a hand to him. "Richard, please. You can't tell anyone about Toothless. He's.."

Richard interrupted me. "Hiccup, get me down, now. NOW!"

I snorted. If he wasn't going to listen, I wasn't going to talk. "If you enjoy being up here, by all means. Keep screaming at me."

Richard scowled angrily. He peeked over the dizziness inducing drop next to us. I was perfectly fine here because I knew Toothless could catch me if I fell. Richard pinned himself next to the wall again.

"Hiccup.." He looked genuinely terrified.

"Please trust me." I held out a hand. "I won't let you fall to your death, I promise."

He stared at me, terror in his eyes beginning to fade. He put his hand in mine.

I smiled. "Give me a chance."

He nodded once. "Okay." He croaked.

The ledge crumbled rather suddenly. We both began to fall. Richard stared at me, his dark green eyes filled with absolute terror.

"Spread your legs!" I yelled.

"What!?"

But he did so anyway.

We landed on Toothless's back. He eased us out of the drop and began to fly in lazy circles.

Richard was clinging to me as if his life depended on it. I could hardly breathe.

"Would you let go of me!" I croaked. "At least let me breathe!"

His grip eased. He was panting, and still gripping my middle. The only noises he was making were whimpers.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're fine. You're not going to fall." I soothed.

He opened one eye and stared me in the face. "I don't belong in the air."

"Look around." I pointed down toward the village, still lit up.

His eyes widened. A small gasp escaped his lips, and fear was forgotten. "Wow."

Toothless spoke for the first time. "What are we going to do now, Hicc?"

Richard gasped. "He talks!"

"Yes, he does. Richard, Toothless. Toothless, Richard."

"Nice to meet you, yeller." Toothless said, sarcasm dripping off his voice.

"Yeller? What does he mean by that?" Richard asked.

"Hey, the first time he comes up with a name for you, it means he like you. He called me 'creator'." I joked lightly, knowing full well that Toothless wasn't all that thrilled to have Richard on his back with me.

Richard nodded. "Okay."

I turned to Toothless. "Let's give him the full tour."

Toothless nodded.

We began flying through the large cave system. Some caves were filled with crystals that glowed. Some were filled with lava way, way below. Some had water lakes. One was filled with plants and undergrowth that thrived in the dim light. A small hole in the roof gave sunlight. I was particularly fond of that one. It was the first time I had seen sunlight.

Without Toothless, I never could have seen it.

I glanced back, and Richard's eyes are full of wonder and amazement. Doubt, too.

We finished, coming back and landing near Toothless's cave. I hopped off Toothless with a small grunt and helped Richard off. We sat down together. Toothless flopped over and relaxed his hydraulics.

There was a long silence between us.

Richard looked up at me suddenly. "Alright. I admit it. That was awesome."

I smiled. "Thank you."

He looked thoughtful for a long moment.

"I won't tell them, for now anyway. Until I decide all the way."

"Thank you!" I throw my arms around him in a spur-of-the-moment thing. After a moment, I feel his arms wrap around me.

A hug.

I backed up after a moment. "Oh.. sorry."

He frowned. "How does Toothless seem so... alive?"

I told him about the CAE.

His eyebrows shot into his hair. "He can FEEL?"

I nodded.

"He's more human than anyone else I know."

And it was true.

Richard put a hand on my shoulder. To my surprise, he looked sympathetic.

"He's your friend?"

"Yes."

He looked thoughtful again.

"Then I'll be your... friend too."

Then he punched me in the arm.

"That's for kidnapping me."

And then he fist bumped me.

"That's for everything else."

And we've remained friends to this day. He's the most loyal friend I'll ever know. I'll never forget what he did for me. I'll never forget what happened that day as long as I live.

I promise, Richard.


	6. Discovery and Dilemma

Richard got my attention days later. He said it was very important.

So we were sitting down together outside Toothless's cave. He stared at nothing for a long time. I could tell something was bothering him deeply.

"Richard?" I asked.

He turned partway to me. "I won training. My final test is tomorrow."

I smiled and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That's great! Good job!"

He stood up and began to wave his arms around wildly like I normally did. "No it's not! I've seen that AI is good! I can't in good conscience kill one of them now!"

Training's final test. Killing an AI. A few days earlier, we had been riding Toothless for another flight. Something had caught his attention. I hadn't been able to snap him out of it. We had flown all the way to the surface. It was barren. Almost nothing growing, and it had been hard to breath. We had seen a computer. A huge computer. In an automated voice, it had commanded Toothless to join the force and kill us.

In that moment, everything became clear.

A computer was controlling the AI. Forcing them to wipe out the human race. They hadn't gone berserk at all. And I couldn't help but wonder who had built it. I was terrified of losing Toothless. Of losing my life to Toothless. Of having Richard killed like this.

Toothless snarled at the machine in front of us.

"Never. I'll never hurt Hiccup. I'd rather rust. I'd rather die!"

That's when I truly felt how much we meant to each other.

I leapt on top of Toothless. Richard joined me.

"Same goes for us!" Richard yelled.

His exclamation surprised and amazed me. He was truly our friend.

I began to feel a burning in my lungs. I could feel Richard's breathing beginning to skip a little as well. I could feel dizziness overcoming me.

We were feeling the effects of having less oxygen.

Toothless sensed our pain and turned to leave. Richard and me had suffered breathing issues for a short time afterward. It was clear the surface was not inhabitable anymore.

And now he was pacing around in front of me, a hand to his head. "I can't kill them now. Not with what I know. I need help, Hiccup!"

I stood.

"What could I possibly do to help? Toothless is _not_ going to help you fight."

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" Richard made a frustrated noise.

He sat back down. I sat next to him. He buried his face in his hands. There was a long silence between us. He turned and stared at me, an idea forming visibly in his eyes.

"A chip. A CEA! Give me a CEA!" He yelled, excited.

"You mean a CAE. But.. why?" I was intrigued.

He nodded eagerly. "So I can turn the AI good, like Toothless!"

My jaw dropped open in shock. "We don't even know if that will work! Toothless is a unique case, I created him! I don't know if a CAE can turn a AI good after it's been under control!"

Richard grabbed my wildly flailing hand. "I know it can work. I just know it. You're a genius. It can work. I know it."

"This is a bad idea." I said flatly.

"It is. But it's the only chance I have. Do you have a better idea?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No."

So the next bunch of hours were spent working on a new CAE.

Richard practiced over and over how to put it on right. Where to put it. We went over it over and over. Until he knew it be heart.

I wished him luck hours later from the sides of the arena. He gives me a thumbs up.

I see my dad exchange some words with him. I find out later what their conversation entailed.

My dad was making him heir. Future leader of our home. Richard had told him that he hadn't wanted it. That I was rightfully supposed to be next and that I deserved it.

What Richard told me my dad said next always chills my bones.

"He'll never amount to anything and you know it. So do I. You're the better choice. I wish you had been my son in the first place instead of him."

I always hated those words.

So, Richard moved into the ring, CAE in his belt, dagger in hand.

The doors opened.

And a large, dangerous looking AI burst into the arena. It let out a deafening roar.

Then it started to chase Richard around the ring.

And that's when everything went wrong.


	7. A lot spoken

The AI shot a bunch of fire at Richard, and he dodged. It then leaped on him in a matter of seconds. He was pinned, belly against the ground.

He stood no chance.

I ran, without thinking, into the arena.

"Hey! Over here!" I yelled, waving my arms.

It turned to me. I heard several murmurs of surprise from the crowd.

I was hoping my trouble magnet would work for once.

It abandoned Richard and went for me.

I froze for a moment, then ran for it, ducking under fire and screaming like I had a piranha biting my face.

I saw, out of the corner of my eyes, Richard leaping onto the AI's head.

Bad idea.

It was now trying to throw him off. It took me a moment to realize what he was trying to accomplish other than not living to old age.

He was trying to attach the chip.

I stood, frozen as he was thrown off. He landed against the wall beside me and didn't get up. He didn't even seem to be moving.

I panicked.

I ran to him, picking him up partially.

"Richard! Please..."

He opened an eye for a moment, then went limp again. His breathing was a little labored.

I turned to see my dad on top of the motionless AI, eyes murderous.

"What was that?!"

I didn't move. I refused to leave my friend.

He came forward and grabbed me with one hand, easily picking me up.

"Hiccup. This was his test, not yours."

Then I heard a screech. Toothless.

He burst into the arena, saw me and my dad and Richard lying limp, and ran forward, eyes thin.

"Toothless, no!" I held out a hand too late.

Toothless tackled my dad to the ground. I heard the noise of him building up his fire.

"NO!" I yelled.

Toothless stopped suddenly, turning to me. "Why, Hiccup? He was hurting you!"

My dad was slowly reaching for his sword.

"Dad, no! Just.. don't hurt each other! Give me a chance to explain!"

And that's when things got worse.

My dad tried to attack Toothless.

Toothless leaped back, wrapping himself protectively around me and Richard.

Men filled the arena, weapons in hand.

Toothless attacked them.

He was outnumbered.

I tried to stop them from hurting him.

My dad was about to kill Toothless.

He glared at me, being held back by a bunch of men.

"Put it in a cell. I don't want it going anywhere."

My heart skipped a beat.

Only minutes later, I was standing in our hall. My dad paced around me. I could feel the fury coming off of him. He was formulating words the same time I was.

"You lied to me." He said, finally breaking the silence. His voice was colder than ice. His eyes reflected his words and tone of voice perfectly. "You were making machines. Richard could have been killed. I could have been killed. You could have been killed."

"He was just protecting us! He's not dangerous! Toothless is a thinking, feeling machine! He loves me!"

"They've killed HUNDREDS of US!" He roared.

"And why do you think that is?" I yelled back.

He didn't answer.

"Why, dad? And besides, what do you care? You never cared about me anyway! Why should you care if I die? It's just one runt taken care of neatly to you! When have you ever showed me love? The moment you realized I wasn't the son you wanted, you practically abandoned me! No one would know we were related if we didn't sleep in the same house!"

It was out. All my frustration was out.

"That machine you saw loves me more than you ever did." I said, my voice matching his earlier coldness. My fists were clenched, knuckles white. My face was twisted in fury.

His face went expressionless.

My blood went cold.

Every word I had said was true.

"Hiccup..." His face twisted in grief for a moment, then went angry again. "I... never had a son. You're a traitor, and you'll die a traitor."

Everything went numb.

"I never had a father." I returned. "And exactly what have I betrayed? You? What loyalty do I have to a father who doesn't love me? Who would deny me chance after chance to prove myself? What loyalty do I have to a village that doesn't care about me? Who exactly have I betrayed?"

His eyes seemed to light on fire. He strode forward and picked me up with one hand. "You have betrayed us to them. The same monsters that killed your mother. The same monsters that attack our village and kill our people. The same machines that our ancestors built and were killed by. You have MADE them." He threw me to the ground.

I stared up at him, feeling rather betrayed myself.

"Get out. I never want to see you again." He said, dangerous glint in his eyes.

That's when the doors opened. Richard came in, bandages in multiple places and limping heavily. He was panting, determination lighting his face.

"Sir. This is my fault. Please. Don't blame your son." His voice didn't even quiver.

Stoick turned his attention to my friend. "What do you mean, Richard?"

"I asked him to make the chip for me so I could turn the AI good. He was trying to rescue me when it went wrong. Don't take it out on him." His voice was pleading. "Hiccup has done nothing wrong. We're the ones who are wrong. We take this out on him, but what have we ever done to show him we accept him? He needs friendship, approval. We didn't give it to him. He made it for himself. This is not his fault."

He paused and turned to me.

"I was wrong. I'm sorry." Tears were in his eyes. "I'm so sorry.."

I moved forward and hugged him. "I forgive you."

We both turned to my dad. Richard had more to say. He moved forward.

"The reason they attack us is because they are being controlled by a supercomputer on the surface. It's like nothing you've ever seen. They have no will of their own. They have no choice."

I saw a dangerous glint in my father- Stoick's eyes. "So you've been to the surface. And you came back alive. How did you get there?"

I spoke up. "Toothless took us there. He protected us. He took us back under, safe and sound. Besides, it's practically uninhabitable up there. We had a hard time breathing."

My dad brushed past us.

"Stoick, no!" "Dad, no!" We said at the same time.

I moved forward. "You can't win this one!"

Richard looked desperate. "Would you just listen to us?!"

He glanced back. "I was wrong, alright. About both of you. Richard, you're not the man I thought you were. Hiccup? You're more pathetic than I thought. You'll never be my son."

On that cheery note, he left, slamming the large door behind him. It opened up partway again.

Me and Richard exchanged a hopeless look. He wobbled a little and I caught him from falling over. I looked through the partially open great hall door. I let myself collapse onto the floor, crying. Richard comforted me silently.

I was barely aware of him. I finally forced myself to stop crying, staring at the floor and feeling empty.

It was over. I couldn't go on.

I had lost everything.


	8. I want to know why

Well, this was just great.

My dad had gathered everyone together, told them of the surface, hyped them up for glory, took Toothless and forced him to take them there.

He was leading them against his will. The supercomputer was calling him up there. Like it did all AI.

They were headed to their deaths, one way or another, I knew it. Either they would pass out from the thin atmosphere, be killed by AI, or give up, run away, and get lost in the caves.

Just great.

Richard and me had watched the convoy head off, helpless and equally miserable. We were sitting side by side on the roof of a house long after they left. There was practically no one left in the village. Except the teens, younger children, and any elders who had enough skill with a weapon to have survived this long.

I glanced at Richard in a pause of my own misery.

How loyal he had been to me, of all people. He had risked everything, his status, his life, to defend me. Now he was sitting beside me, not crying, but looking as though he wanted to. Still wrapped in bandages from the ring. He looked badly hurt, but refused to say so.

Both of us knew what had happened when his father had found out about the details.

Both of us had no family now.

And all we had was each other. Which I was grateful for. I had him.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"We have to do something."

I nodded. "Yeah. But what? It's a total mess! We've lost everything! Our tribe, our family, Toothless..."

Richard snorted. "Thank you for summing that up. But I never give up. All I gotta do is come up with a plan."

We fell into silence.

I turned to him after a moment. "Why did you defend me back there?"

He looked at me. "Least I could do for a friend." He replied simply.

I shook my head. "You could have gone on the rest of your life without ever saying a thing. You lost your family, Richard! For ME! Hiccup the useless, Hiccup the runt!" I put a hand to his shoulder, and he winced in apparent pain. "There's more to this then you're saying."

He sighed deeply.

"You showed me what it's like to really have friends. I mean, I thought, if an AI can be nice and have friends, why couldn't I? I saw you were truly lonely, and my thoughtless actions hurt you. Really _hurt_ you. I was trying to make myself look better by bullying you. But I hurt you. And I'm so sorry." He shook a little. "I never had friends before you."

I gaped. "But.. you're the most popular kid in town! The strongest, heck, even I wanted to be like you someday when we were younger."

Richard stared into my eyes. "I was strong physically. Yes. But... No one likes a bully. None of the other teens really thought anything of me. I'm not strong enough in what really matters." He turned away from me and lowered his head. "I'm not a very good person. Not like you, Hiccup. You're... better than me."

I sighed and looked out at the village. "You mean all of it, huh?"

"Yup."

"I think you're a wonderful person." I said. "You defended me. No one has ever done that before."

"I should have done it sooner." Richard's voice shook a little. "Now. Hiccup, our other friend is in trouble. What are we going to do about it?"

I turned to him. "I have an idea. It's crazy, but it just might work."


	9. Rescue

We walked into the arena, side by side.

We could see the cages that AIs were in around the sides of the ring, huge doors keeping them inside. I moved up to a door, CAE in one hand. Richard moved up beside me. We exchanged a meaningful look.

Friends.

Richard nodded to behind him, and I followed his gaze. Fish, Astrid, Ruff, and Tuff were all standing there.

"I explained everything, and they were actually pretty eager to help." Richard said. "I guess not everyone hates us, huh?" He smiled at them.

So did I.

Astrid came forward. "So you know these things, huh? You can make them nice? This, I got to see."

Fish gave a bounce of excitement. "Reprogramming them opens up tons of possibilities! Imagine what things we could do!"

Ruff and Tuff exchanged a look. "We were promised destruction." They said in sync.

I smiled. "Thank you all, I know I'm not a great..."

Richard held up a hand. "Let's just do this. Together."

He put a hand down. The others joined, one at a time. Astrid was only a little hesitant. She obviously wanted to help. I stared at them. And put my hand in the circle. It felt cool.

One by one, we trained and reprogrammed all the AI we could use to get to the surface.

One that could climb walls and shoot spikes for Astrid.

One with two heads, only one of which could talk for the twins. It could also fly, and had quite a knack for destruction.

Another with quite a personality for Fish. It was somewhat slow, but seemed to be very willing to help.

And one that could even act as a flamethrower for Richard. I would ride with him until I could free Toothless.

A bonus was most of the AI could fly.

As a team, we moved out, Richard and me in the lead. The others followed easily. We moved up the path toward the surface. As we broke the surface, we saw the terrible sight that had been awaiting us.

The entire village. Fighting an army of AI.

And losing.

I motioned to the others. "Alright, we have to act fast. Richard will help me find Toothless, then he'll join you. What I want you to do is this. Help whoever you can on our side, get the AI's away from them. Fish, you're trained partially in medicine, right? Help whoever you can. Ruff and Tuff? Blow stuff up."

They all nodded. We moved forward as one, beginning our tasks.

Whether we won or not.

After a short flyover, I spotted Toothless, struggling wildly against his chains on the side of the battle. "There!"

Richard had his AI fly low, and I jumped off. "Go help the others!"

The thinness of the air was already getting to me. Richard nodded and went off to help the others. I began to fight against the chains Toothless was being held by, although I had no idea what I would do, exactly.

"Am I glad to see you." Toothless said. He looked relieved.

"Me too." I struggled against the chains, getting more tired every second.

"Hiccup."

I whipped around to see my dad. He was badly hurt on his side, a deep scratch on his face, he was limping. He held a light in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I've been a fool. I should have listened to you." He was beginning to cry, clutching his side. "Even after how I treated you, you still came... not just for your AI, I can tell. I... I'm proud to call you my son."

I ran forward and grabbed him before he could collapse. I spotted Fish, helping someone. He looked busy.

I was scared.

"Dad? I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for not telling you about Toothless earlier, I'm sorry for not being the son you wanted."

He began to lie down on the dirt surface, breathing becoming hard. "Son? You.. have nothing... to be sorry for." His eyes began to close. "Richard was... right. I... was so... wrong. You're... a genius." I hugged him.

I wondered if this was our last conversation.

I turned to Toothless. "Can you use your fire?"

His eyes widened. "Not on the chains. I'll burn myself in the process."

"I don't mean on the chains." I began to gently half carry my father to Toothless. To help him. "Stop him from bleeding. If you burn it, it won't bleed anymore."

Toothless nodded and did so with a light burn. My dad let out a pained groan. Someone came over to me. Astrid.

"Take care of him!" I grabbed his sword as Astrid nodded. I cut Toothless's chains and we took off.

Most of the village had fled back underground. I could see Fish joining Astrid next to my dad. Richard and the twins flew up to me.

"What now? It seems like it's over?" Richard glanced around.

As did I.

There was no hostile AI in sight.

A few people being carried by their comrades toward the underground, my dad being tended to, but nothing hostile.

Not even the supercomputer.

Which, I realized with a shudder, had been right here.

But wasn't anymore.

This wasn't over yet.


	10. Fear and darkness

Terror.

Fear.

There is no feeling like it.

Your heart beats faster.

Your skin tingles.

You wonder if your last moments are near.

I saw the supercomputer. It was no longer a huge block of machinery.

It was recreated as a huge beast of doom. Six beady blinking eyes staring into my soul. It had a roar to wake the dead. It came out of the fog, stomping everything under its huge feet. I nearly fell off of Toothless. I saw Richard wince. The twin's jaws dropped.

It had changed.

And it knew I was a threat.

I made a split-second decision. Me and Toothless dove as one toward it, blasting it in the face. It didn't even blink. It let out a huge blast of fire which could have burned us to a crisp and began to follow us, opening a pair of huge wings to take off and fly.

We led it higher, and higher.

The air was so thin, my head was spinning. I could hardly hold onto Toothless.

"Hiccup? You okay?"

"Keep going."

Upwards we flew.

Then the supercomputer spoke.

"Little inventor human. You can be useful to us. Join us and I will spare you apart from humanity. I will let you live. I promise."

I clung tighter to Toothless. "NEVER!"

And for a split second, I had even considered it.

I remain ashamed of that second. I would not be the traitor they had thought I was.

I turned back to the monster behind me. "Never. I will never help you. Even when I have nothing to lose. Even if you kill everyone I love. I will never help you."

"Then die." Its simulated voice was eerily calm.

I aimed Toothless at her wing. "Blast it."

He did.

We dove in and out of her, avoiding her every swipe. Metal claws came so close to tearing me in two that I could feel them graze me. Shots of fire that could reduce me to nothing recognizable came close enough to scorch. I was pretty burned now. We blasted her wings every chance we got.

She began to fall from the sky.

Toothless finished it by letting off his final blast into her gaping jaw. It lit up her remaining fuel, causing a chain reaction. The explosion was magnificent. But deadly.

I finally began to lose consciousness, and slipped off of Toothless.

"Hiccup!"

Fire engulfed me.

Then red.

Then black.

Then nothing.

Nothing at all.


	11. Another chance

I awoke with a throbbing in my head.

And just about everywhere else.

I opened my eyes to blurry somethings move around. I felt something wet on my head, heard voices. A dull pain was shooting through my entire left leg. Some of it was numb. The rest of me was complaining loudly.

"Dad? Toothless? Richard?" I murmured, starting to sit up.

Only to be stopped by a firm but gentle hand on my chest. I fell back easily. Who was there? Anyone? I knew the healer would be there. And Toothless. I couldn't hear whirring. Maybe he wasn't. My thoughts were a blur. Where was I? Why was I in so much pain? Who was around me? How long had it been?

I closed my eyes tight to try to shut out everything for a moment and relax. Gather my thoughts.

I opened them again when I was relaxed enough. I was met with the ceiling of my house. It stared back, much nicer a sight than I thought it would be. I heard shuffling and murmuring as I turned my head to look around. I was met with Richard's warm grin.

"Welcome to the world of the awake."

I grinned and sat up slowly. No one stopped me. I saw the healer on the far side of my room, looking away. She was giving us space. I looked at Richard. He had a large grin on his face. Genuinely happy to see me. My face lit up as well.

"Glad to be here. Where is everyone?" I took the wet cloth off my head and looked around again.

Just three people in the room.

"Where's dad?" I had hoped he'd be here.

Richard's smile faded from his face like melting ice. I felt my heart sink.

"No. Don't.." I started.

Richard put a hand on my shoulder. "He's alive. But he hasn't woken up since we took him down here. That was a week ago. We weren't sure if either of you would..."

I felt dizzy.

"Dad. Please, no."

"If you hadn't been there, he would be.. gone already. He has a chance. You were worse off than him." Richard shook his head.

I partially ignored him. "I want to see him. Now. Then Toothless. Where is he?"

I sat up all the way and began to put my feet over the bed.

Richard stopped me. "Wait. H..Hiccup." He looked as though he was in pain.

"What? Something wrong? Is something.." I trailed off.

Something was very wrong.

Very.

Wrong.

I stared down at my legs.

My leg wasn't numb. It was gone. Everything under my knee. Just wood and metal.

I let out a pained gasp. The room spun.

My leg was gone.

I felt tears on the verge of coming. I would never be able to walk properly again.

I sat there for a good while. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the bed post and hauled myself to my... foot. Upright.

Holding myself up, I turned to Richard, standing there with a solemn face. I hadn't even noticed he was right there until now. My eyes closed for a moment.

Walk.

I took a step forward with my fake leg first, placing it down in front of me. A dull pain shot up my leg. Then, I paused.

This was going to hurt.

I got ready to put my weight on my fake leg and take another step forward. As I did, a much sharper pain felt like it was ripping my leg clean off. I stumbled, falling.

I never hit the floor. I fell into outstretched arms. I was put back upright, now leaning heavily on Richard. He slipped his arm under mine and around my back without a word. We began to move forward slowly. Every step hurt like I was being struck by lightning.

Down the steps, out the door. We moved through the village toward the healer's place. She was following slowly. At the same pace we were going. Slowly.

I heard a voice, then some excited noises.

Toothless bounded up to me, looking happy. His ears were tilted high, a grin spreading his face. "Hiccup!" He gave an excited bounce. "You're awake! You're awaaake!"

He buried his face into mine, and I stroked the top of his head. I could see that he had a patch job on it. He must have been injured. I hugged him tightly, letting go of Richard for a moment to hug my AI friend. Toothless emitted a purr, one from his animal noise chip. It comforted me.

We were soon on our way toward the healer's hut again, at no fast pace. Richard had said little to nothing, being patient with my... lack of speed.

We made it there, and moved inside, Toothless waiting impatiently outside. I saw my dad, lying on a bed and covered in bandages on his left side. He remained motionless as we approached. I sat down next to him, putting a hand on him. I had rarely seen my father without his armor. Without it, he looked smaller. His face was pale. I was barely aware that Richard had sat down beside me.

"Dad..."

I felt emotion build up inside me. I didn't care about the last few days before the battle. Or all those years before, where he had rejected me time after time. All I cared about was that moment on the surface when he had cared. When he had loved me. I silently begged him not to leave, now that things were better, and we could start over.

I bent over and whispered in his ear. "Dad? I don't know if you can hear me. You probably can't. I don't know if you'll wake up. I don't know if we'll get a chance to actually be a family. But I want to. I want to have a chance to do that." My voice was raising slowly. "Please be my dad. I love you." Tears fell from my face. "I love you."

Richard put a hand on my shoulder, comforting me.

I leaned into him. He didn't seem to care about anything else, just being there. What was he talking about, he wasn't a good friend? That was nonsense. I was glad beyond words that he was here.

"Richard? You're a good friend. And don't argue with me."

He didn't respond. The hand he had on my shoulder tensed momentarily, then patted me twice. I grinned.

We heard a soft moan. My father stirred slowly. The healer was at his side faster than I thought possible for the woman. She felt his heartbeat, checked his pulse, then pressed him down when he tried to sit up. His eyes blinked open, then he turned straight to me. He smiled, despite pain clear on his face.

"Hiccup." His voice was a little raspy. "We'll get that chance."

I moved down and hugged him awkwardly.

He stared me in the eyes. "And let's do it right this time."

I nodded.

I wasn't going to waste another chance to have a dad.


	12. My father

Three months after the battle, we were recovering. My dad was doing fine, Toothless repaired, Richard healed. The funerals for those had died in the battle were over with, grieving still happening but lessened. Wounds healing. Scars fading.

I had not gone through this unscathed.

My leg still ached every day, phantom pains practically ripping me apart on occasion. I bit my lip during the day and cried at night. I refused to let them know how much pain I was in.

On a cheerier note, my dad and I were finally making amends. The painful past seemed only a memory. He was proud of me. He kept repeating it over and over, how I had saved him, the village, and ended the war. How I had lost my foot in the process. He hugged me every night, and when I had pain in my leg, would help me not to fall. Richard did the same, hugging and helping. Toothless as well, though he didn't hug. I felt as though I finally had a family. A father and a brother. A friend and a village.

But I felt... incomplete. I wasn't just missing half my leg. I was missing half my family.

I wanted a mother. The only thing I still needed and had never had.

I walked down the stairs from my room, hearing some music. I saw my father, form outlined against the fire. A soft tune was coming from something he was playing. An instrument. As I approached, I saw a flute of some kind in his hands. The tune was light and melodic, but slowly turned sad and slow, like a last lullaby. I wondered what song it was. He stopped playing and put the flute down. He didn't seem to realize I was there.

I heard him begin to sing. The same melody as he was playing.

 _"Way down in the caves._

 _Among the roots and fossils._

 _A people hides below and lives_

 _Far below the hills._

 _Years ago, they saw the sun._

 _Shining in the sky._

 _Machines now rule up above._

 _So deep they had to hide._

 _When someday they return again,_

 _When the machines rust_

 _They will build cities again,_

 _Never again machines to trust._

 _If their lessons they do not learn,_

 _A hefty price to pay._

 _Creating things that think and live,_

 _Can take their lives away._

 _So heed our warning, surface folk,_

 _For if you choose this path._

 _When you build the intelligence..._

 _It will take out it's wrath."_

He stopped, shaking a little. I was amazed. I never knew he could sing, or that such a song existed. It seemed to tell the whole story. Except the CAEs. The chips I had invented changed everything. I could reprogram every single AI on the planet. It would take a long time, perhaps my entire life. But nothing would keep me from doing it.

Nothing.

He began to sing again.

 _"My father told me something that happened once, so long ago..._

 _Up where there was wind and sun, green grass and white snow._

 _I believed his every word, he was a wise old man._

 _He would tell me everything about this ancient land._

 _People saw the sun each day, saw the cloudy sky._

 _And they would greet each other as they passed by._

 _Oceans blue, and mountains great, fields of flowers too,_

 _If someday I reached it, I'd come back and tell everything to you._

 _Then someday we'll live up there, in that wonderland._

 _You and me can live in peace, heart to heart and hand in hand."_

He took a deep breath and sighed. I moved up and sat down beside him silently. He didn't move.

"That was beautiful." I whispered, picking up the flute.

He smiled in the firelight. "Thank you, Hiccup. Those are songs you didn't know, right?"

"No, never heard them before." I ran a hand down the flute, looking at the beautiful markings.

"That's because I wrote them." He gave me a soft grin.

"I didn't know you could do that.." I murmured, amazed.

"I didn't know you could invent and build machines." He sighed. "That flute belonged to your mother. I made it for her in place of a ring. Wood is rare down here, after all. She loved it, and I taught her to play it like my father taught me."

I rubbed the wood reverently. "Wow." I had no idea this flute was so important.

I moved to hand it back.

"I want you to keep it, Hiccup. It's yours now. Maybe you'll learn to play it, too." He stared me in the eyes.

I let out a small gasp. "K..keep it?"

He smiled and nodded. "I know you'll put it to good use."

I nodded, clutching the flute with care. The beautiful color of the wood, the smooth sides and soft bumps and outlines, the wonderful little carvings on it. Someone had spent many hours on it. And now it was mine.

I moved it up to my lips and gave an experimental toot. A single note sounded. My dad chuckled and showed me how to play different notes. We spent some time together, him teaching me how to play my new instrument. I found I had a knack for it.

I finally stopped, putting down the flute and turning to my dad.

"Thank you, dad." I said, smiling.

He patted me gently on the back. "Of course. You deserve it, anyway. Think of it as a present, a way for me to make up for those fifteen years. For all those birthdays and holidays I didn't spend with you. For every disappointed look. I only wish I could give you more."

I shook my head. "You already have."

I hugged him tightly, grateful for his presence.

* * *

Richard walked the short distance up the hill, spotting a familiar silhouette next to the tree. The figure was playing a flute, the notes ringing clearly and beautifully. The player had skill, perhaps the skill of playing it for many years. He moved up and sat down.

His friend stopped playing the flute and turned to him, tears in his eyes. Richard put a hand over his, still clutching the beautiful flute.

They exchanged a look.

The two men smiled at each other, one smile weaker and more forced.

A deeper voice came out of his mouth. "I miss him, Richard. I miss my father."

Richard nodded. His own voice failed him.

They cuddled closer together.

The memory fades, and Hiccup stops writing in his book. The first part of his story is in writing now. The rest is still to come. He feels a deep ache in his heart for those he's lost. He puts the pencil down and closes the book. He looks beside it, where an ancient flute lies on the table, well taken care of, but worn and old. It's impossible to tell how long ago it's been made.

Hiccup sighs and moves to his room. He stares at something for a long time. His hand squeezes the doorknob, and he begins to close the door. He looks up at us for a moment.

"Remember when I was a boy...? That was so long ago... Now I'm old... very old."

He moves a hand to rub through his hair. Still a mess of brown. A smile lights his young face.

We wonder why he says he is old, yet doesn't look it. He seems to realize our curiosity.

"I'll tell you everything... for now, just read that again in case you missed something." He gestures to the book on the table in the small room. "I'll see you later. For now, I'm tired, my friend."

With that, he closes the door. We turn to the book.

Missed something?


	13. Whispers of war

The next chapter in my story begins three years later. Peace is here. All the AI we have encountered are friendly. Our village is a wonderful place, humans and AI working together in harmony. All of them have CAEs, but only Toothless has been truly able to feel love, as far as I can tell. He's also the only one who can feel pain. I still can't find the reason he's so different.

But am I complaining? No.

So, we started a plan to inhabit the surface again a year ago. With help from AI, we repopulated the plants on the surface, and slowly, they began to help the air. Six months later, we started building a surface village. Now, we are successfully living on the surface, seeing the sun each day. It's far from perfect, but it's wonderful. I wouldn't give it up for anything.

Other underground colonies have done the same, colonizing the surface. Berserk, Embersight, and Outcast are our closest neighbors.

The Berserkers are nice enough, I suppose, but they sure live up to their name.

Outcasts are a band of banished people from other villages. They are to be avoided, mostly. They are all either machine creators and reprogrammers with bad intentions, or have some other reason to be banished. They are all quite bitter at their former villages. One such is Alvin the Treacherous. And he earned his name. He was from our village, I remember his banishment. I had been six at the time, and hadn't known that I would come so close to having the same fate. Alvin was my father's friend from a long time ago. They are both quote bitter at each other.

As for Embersight? They keep to themselves. They are mostly a tribe of peace. I don't know how they survived the long years of war. Perhaps they sealed the caves to their village? But how they learned of the war's end I'll never know.

So Berk has moved to the surface. We live among some mountains and hills. Our problems are far from over, but conditions have improved. Morale is up. People are happy. Families are staying together and not dying nearly as much. A couple of them are even expecting additions. I'm happy with Toothless, Richard, and my flute. Not to mention my new circle of friends, Fish, Ruff, Tuff, Astrid, Richard, and me. And our AI partners.

And my leg is much better now. I can walk, run, and even do flips without much pain at all. Perhaps a sting here and there, and on colder nights, it really aches. But not as often as it used to. I've forgotten most of the pain. I'm living a normal one legged life. Heck, I even crack jokes about it sometimes now, when in the past I would have winced if someone looked at it.

After a while, me and Toothless started to map the area. We extended further and further out, exploring every nook and cranny, repairing AI's that we find. It's like our quest now. And for another year after, that's the way it was.

Until something new arose.

Berserkers and Outcasts, we can handle. The Outcasts ignored us for a month or two after recolonization. They were interested in the CAEs and kidnapped me a couple of times. The Berserker leader, Deranged himself, tried to get Toothless as his mount. He soon regretted trying.

The new threat was whispers of war. An army.

A man named Viggo Grimborn. Allied with a man named Drago Bludvist.

I can tell you, they sounded like a couple of complete dears by their names. I was no longer upset with being called "Hiccup". I bet these two wanted to slap their mothers.

The whispers began to grow louder as months went by. From whispers to murmurs.

Until, my father heard of these men.

I remember his face.

I stared up at him, horror and anguish on his face. He knew who these men were. And he wouldn't tell me from where. I watched his haunted face as he turned to go elsewhere.

I was confused and scared. I did not want everything I had worked for to be destroyed. I had no real idea of what to do, but I wouldn't let anything happen to Toothless.

So I left to go find these men.

Richard followed me, riding Inferno, and we left.

We found a destroyed base. I nodded to Richard and we landed to look around. Toothless looked around and froze.

"I don't like this place. Let's get out of here."

Before we could move, nets flew at us, catching me, Richard, Toothless and Inferno in a few moments. Inferno struggled, looking around for our attackers. Toothless was growling dangerously.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" An obnoxious voice caught my attention.

I was forced to my feet by a couple of rough hands. I glanced around and saw Richard, being held by some men as I was. We were being forced to stare at a tall, muscly man with tattoos on his chin and wearing furs. Toothless and Inferno struggled behind us.

"A couple of riffraff AI thieves? Well, finally we've caught you. Or are there more of you?"

I shook my head. "I'm not a thief. And neither is he. And who are you?"

The man bowed. "Oh, where are my manners? Eret, son of Eret. Finest AI killer alive. I can hunt them, too. And I do so with accuracy. Until do gooder AI thieves come in and take everything I work for. Especially him. The King of AI. The vigilante. The tamer. The rider. I've been hunting him for years. He's Drago's worst enemy."

I blinked. "What do-gooder..." I started. "There are other AI reprogrammers?"

"Other than your thieving friend from last night, you tell me?" Eret said, being cryptic.

I rolled my eyes. "So, you know Drago?"

Eret and the men around him laughed. "Know him? I work for him! And now I have a huge mess to explain to him." He motioned to the blasted fort around him.

I shrugged. "That's not my problem. It's yours. Now. Let us go, and this fort won't suffer any more damage than it already has."

Eret bristled. "Is that a threat?"

I shook my head. "My friend doesn't like it when I get tied up and thrown around. He tends to get a little testy."

He might have thought I was talking about Richard. But I was referring to the restless and very irritated Toothless behind me. Although, when tested, Richard was found to be very... testy about me coming to harm as well.

Eret snorted. "I think I can handle two small thieves and their pathetic AI."

I smirked. "Light em up, Inferno! Toothless, get us out!"

Inferno lit himself on fire with a roar, the same time Toothless threw all the men and the net off of him. Richard twisted from the grip put on him with ease, his strength let him do it easily, people who didn't know him could easily underestimate him due to his thinness. He then punched someone in the face and pulled out a knife. Inferno leaped next to him, Toothless got to me, and in seconds, we were side by side and ready to go for it.

Eret looked impressed. He was eyeing Toothless with a hungry look.

I got onto my friend's back. I raised an eyebrow at Eret. "How's that? Surely we're not still pathetic."

He looked quite a bit frustrated now.

The four of us took off and continued our new quest to stop Drago Bludvist and his army. And of course, Viggo Grimborn, who was probably the brains of the operation.

I was more determined than ever.


	14. The stranger

I hate the feeling that you aren't getting anywhere.

After flying for a good week or two, we were still looking for Drago Bludvist the madman and his partner Viggo Grimborn the genius. Yeah, we had learned more about them. But we were no closer to finding them.

It was frustrating.

The four of us were over a cloud cover now, flying in no particular direction. Richard remained silent. So did Toothless. Inferno was the strong silent type. He rarely said anything.

I was feeling my frustration build inside me until I was practically a volcano ready to erupt. It finally began to, a growl rising in my throat. I finally released it, roaring frustratedly and waving my arms in the air.

"Aaaaaaaahhhg!"

I fell back on Toothless's spine and sighed.

Richard spoke up. "You okay?"

Not really.

I grumbled under my breath and sat back up.

Richard kept his gaze fixed on me, waiting for a reply. I knew I had to give him one, or he would never stop worrying.

"Fine." I all but growled.

"Uh, no, not fine. You just had a freak-out." He let go of Inferno and crossed his arms, staring with one eyebrow raised.

"I did not have a _freak-out._ I just... I'm frustrated." I grumbled.

"Um.. Hiccup?"

"Matter closed." I said, not willing to admit how much it was getting to me.

"No, Hiccu.."

"I'm not freaking out!" I shouted.

I turned to look at Richard, who was pointing at something behind me. I turned around and immediately regretted it.

A huge AI was flying parallel to us, a rider in black armor and a red cape on it's back. The AI resembled a four winged owl. More flying AI began to surround us. Toothless growled deeply. I knew that if I got even a scratch, he might decide to kill all of them.

This wasn't good.

Drago had found us.

Me and Richard were separated from our mounts moments later. Toothless screeched in fury as I was taken from his back into a couple of cold, metal claws. But they were being carried too moments later, limp from being shut off.

I felt my heart beating in my chest. I was feeling dizzy from fear, frustration, and anger. This was going to be bad.

We approached something that could only be described as awesome and scary.

A huge metal fortress. Made from scrap parts of all sizes and tipped over buildings, looking like a frozen metal explosion, sticking dramatically out of the ground. My breath left my mouth. This was scary.

We flew straight into it, and me and Richard were dropped ungraciously on the metal floor. We were surrounded by AI of all shapes and sizes, Toothless and Inferno not among them or anywhere to be seen. Richard pulled out a sword of my invention and lit it up. The sword was capable of a lot. I motioned him to put it away. We didn't want to get our captors mad. He nodded and did so.

I looked around. The AI were slowly advancing, growling at us. I moved to one and held out a hand. A gesture of peace that most of them appreciated when not under the control of a supercomputer.

The AI stopped making noises and stared at me.

"It's okay. I'm not an enemy. I'm not going to hurt you."

It moved forward and was about to place its metal nose into my hand. It stopped suddenly when a noise from behind me startled us. Richard hissed through his teeth. We turned to see the same figure we had seen outside. The leader.

He was a lithe shape covered in body armor and wearing a dramatic cape. He stalked us, moving in circles around us. Richard looked nervous. I was shaking.

"Who are you? Drago Bludvist? Listen, we just want to.." I stopped as the stranger turned his interest towards me.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Richard yelled, moving to my side.

The stranger was moving closer and closer. I was backing up. He seemed only interested in me. But why, I couldn't figure out.

"Uh.."

The stranger grabbed my hand. I let out a yell and ripped free. The stranger reacted by wincing and backing up for a moment. Then he outstreched a hand again, not threatening. I took a deep breath and offered my hand. The stranger grabbed it and turned it over to look at my palm.

He gasped and let go of my hand. The voice that came out of the helmet seemed very... female.

I stared at him... her? "Um, hello?"

Richard was at my side again, staring at the stranger. "Why does he want to look at your hand?"

"I don't know." I whispered back.

The stranger reached up and took off the helmet, revealing a female face. Brown hair and emerald green eyes. "Hiccup? Is that you? After all these years..."

I narrowed my eyes. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

She stared back. "You wouldn't remember me... you were so small..."

I shook my head. "Okay, officially freaking me out."

"A mother never forgets." She said, looking at me.

Wait.

A mother.

A mother?!

I gasped and felt dizzy. I didn't have a mother. She was dead. For eighteen years, dead. This couldn't be true. But she knew me? How...?

Richard grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "You okay?"

My mother moved forward and offered a hand.

"But you're... you're dead! My mom is dead!" I wheezed.

"Come. I'll explain everything."

She turned and moved through a tunnel. Richard and me followed. I was still partially in a daze. We moved through turns and twists until we came into a huge area. There were plants and foliage all over the walls. Holes let sunlight in, and the air was clean and easy to breath. It was beautiful.

I let out a gasp. I began to feel odd.

Richard gasped as well.

My mother stood on the cliff, facing us. "Welcome to my home."

I shook my head as if to clear a fog. whatever was bothering me was getting worse. "But they said you were dead! But... how? Why didn't you come back?"

She glanced up and the owlish AI we had seen earlier dropped down and moved around her, staring at us. "Son, I... I was taken by an AI, but he never meant to hurt me. He took me to this place. Here, the AI are free. They are controlled by no one. They built this place to protect humans they believed were good. Humans that could help them free their bretheren from the monster computers."

I gaped. Richard's jaw hung open.

"So," She continued. "I help them by reprogramming them, protecting them, and being one of them. Humans and AI were meant to be together. But most humans just want to use them to destroy each other. Our ancestors created living creatures. Thinking creatures. And they used them for war. The AI decided to stop fighting, but they were forced by computers built after they tried to stop. One side made a computer so powerful, that it made the AI attack all humans. Wipe them from existance. Some managed to fight it's control. And here they are."

I was amazed. "Wow. Th.. this is.. well, I just don't have the words."

My mother beamed. "Follow me."

We made our way through the large area and stopped at a station. Inferno and Toothless were lying down while AI were doing something to them.

I approached Toothless. "Bud?"

He didn't answer.

My mother moved up to him. "We are freeing him."

I felt a sting of pain go through me. "What does that mean, exactly?"

She pointed to his head. "We removed something that was controlling him."

I suddenly realized what she meant. "His CAE? No, that doesn't control him, it gives him emotions!"

My mother's eyes widened. "It does? I thought... oh dear. Was it important?"

I felt another sting of pain, but I wasn't sure where it was coming from. "Yes, it was very important! It.. it was him!" The pain was increasing, getting to unbearable levels.

Richard spoke up. "Where is it? Toothless needs it!"

Valka shook her head. "I don't know, I told them to take care of it!"

Richard and Valka went blurry. Everything around me went dark and I collapsed, losing consciousness.

I was aware of Toothless's frightened cries and my heartbeat before I let darkness swallow me.


	15. Connected

My dreams were interrupted and troubled.

I kept dreaming that my heart was stopping, I was falling to my death into unspeakable darkness, I was dying in other ways I'd rather not say.

One thing was for sure, these were not my usual dreams. Something was off.

Then, I found myself floating in an endless dark void. I looked around and saw nothing. Then I realized I could see something. Toothless. Floating there, looking dead and lifeless in every way. I moved over to him and put a hand on his snout.

"Toothless? Bud?"

He didn't move. It was just like in the cave. He hadn't woken up until I had placed my hand on his snout, but I was doing that now. What was different?

The chip.

They removed his chip. The essence of who he was. All his emotions, his pain, his happiness. Everything that was my friend, what made him different from every other feelingless AI. The chip I had put hours into. The chip I had placed so gently into his head. The chip that had almost malfunctioned a year ago. I had almost lost him. That chip was what held him together.

I put my head against his.

"Too...too...thle...ss."

I stroked the sides of his head.

"I...it's okay, bud. It...it's going t..to be fine. I'll bring y..you back."

I felt tears beginning to form. This wasn't a dream. This was almost real, in a sense. I could feel him there in front of me. I felt emptiness in front of me. And without him, who was I?

"T... my friend. My creation.. but so much more... you are a part of me."

I closed my eyes.

"I can't live without you. Toothless. Please... come back."

Nothing.

"Toothless... I love you."

I felt something. He moved, and my heart beat faster.

"H...hic...crea...tor.." He stuttered.

I felt a smile beginning to make it's way onto my face. "That's right."

"Don't... leave..."

He opened his eyes at the same time I opened mine. We stared into each other's eyes.

"Fr...ie...nd." He said.

"Friend." I repeated.

"Together." We said.

I jerked awake and sat up. Richard was there. My friend was looking very relieved.

"Oh, thank goodness. I'm getting tired of almost losing you." He punched me lightly on the arm. "Can you stop this habit you're developing? Of almost dying over and over?"

I nodded. "Sure. How long have I been out?"

"A few days."

My breath caught in my throat. Richard nodded.

"Your mom is trying to fix Toothless. She doesn't know how successful she'll be. She's... really sorry for hurting him." His voice went low.

I shook my head. "He's... being fixed? Shouldn't I be there... where are they?" I began to stand up.

Richard didn't stop me. We began to head through the large sanctuary. I felt hope stir in me. Toothless was there, I could feel it. Somehow, I could feel it. As if we were...

Connected.


	16. Hesitation

I heard music.

Flute music. Surprised, I let go of Richard's hand and moved forward.

My mother was sitting on a rock, playing my flute. She was playing the same tune my father had the night he gave it to me. I narrowed my eyes.

Where was Toothless?

I moved up, seeing him sitting in front of my mother, watching her playing intently. His ears twitched every few notes. He noticed me and immediately moved forward, throwing himself at me. I let out a yelp as he bowled me over.

"Hiccup! I saw you in my sleep!"

I buried myself into him, happy. He was alive. "Toothless..."

My mother moved up and handed the flute back the moment I stood up. "I just had to play it again. You can have it back now."

I put it back in my belt. I was a little confused.

"Okay then. Is this how you recognized me?"

"I recognized the flute, and couldn't understand why you had it. Then I decided to see if you had that birthmark on your hand." She answered.

I lifted my hand and stared at it. It had a noticeable mark on it, one I had never thought of before, just a mark. It was shaped roughly like nothing, partially like a blotch... I guess she recognized it anyway. Not that I'm complaining.

I smiled at her. "So... have you heard of Drago Bludvist?"

Her face went solemn. "Yes. He's a madman who has dreams of conquest. He's caused a lot of destruction and death."

My blood went cold. "Yeah. That's what I heard."

Richard put a hand on my shoulder. "We're out here to stop him."

I nodded.

Valka looked confused. "How? I have barely been holding him back, never mind stopping him. That AI trapper base I destroyed was one of hundreds."

I clenched my fists. Determination crossed my face. "I'm going to talk to him."

Richard's eyes widened. I hadn't told him what I had been planning to do once I found Drago. I knew he would disagree and try to stop me.

Valka shook her head. "No. There is no talking to Drago. If he wouldn't listen to me, he won't listen to you."

Richard nodded. "I agree. Besides. Why talk when we can just destroy some bases?"

"Because that's not what we do! We're the voice of peace, not war, Richard! I built Toothless as a friend, not a war machine!" I yelled. This is exactly the reason I had kept my plan a secret for so long.

Richard's eyes narrowed. "Well, what are we going to do then? Do we have a choice? He wants war!"

Valka watched helplessly.

I began to pace, very frustrated. "I won't fight. There has to be a way to make him stop. We stopped the supercomputer."

Richard had the same state of mind I did. Frustration. "It was a computer! You destroyed it! Drago is different! Hiccup, we have to fight."

I stopped. I stared at the ground for a long time. I had stood for peace for a long time. I wasn't going to let a madman ruin everything I had worked so hard for.

"No. I'm not going to fight! There has to be a way!" I hissed. There had to be.

Richard moved forward, hand extended. Desperation was in his eyes. He wanted to talk me out of it. "No, Hiccup. Listen."

"No, you listen! Remember three years ago! You were going to win training, and you wanted to find a way other than fighting! It may have gone wrong, but we got close! Peace won that day and it's going to win here too! I _won't_ fight!" I finished my sentence with a defiant stomp.

Richard looked shocked and befuddled. He took a step back. I regretted my harshness a little.

I got onto Toothless and led him outside without another thought. We flew for a long time over the landscape, leaving everything behind.

I stared at my hands. I refused to kill, hurt, destroy. Was this war going to force me? Fighting and war never ended well. People died. Destruction. I could almost see the blood that would be spilled. I could almost hear the all too familiar screams of dying people. I could see the explosions raining down on houses. Bodies flying. I was beginning to shake, terror overcoming me.

"Sometimes you have to fight." Toothless said suddenly, startling me. The visions of war died away.

I stared at the top of his head. "I know. But... I don't want to. People die. I could lose you... or dad. If I can end this peacefully, I will."

"And if you can't?" Toothless asked, turning to me. "What will be the cost? You could lose us either way."

I looked back towards where we had come from. I then faced forward again and buried my face in my hands. I thought for a moment, Toothless's steady wing beats and wistling wind the only noises I heard. No screams or explosions.

"Toothless, you surprise me a lot, bud." I finally said.

"I'm good at it."

I smiled and patted his head twice. "I'll think it over. Let's go back."

He turned and flew back towards the sanctuary. "That's more like it, Hiccup."


	17. A family

My dreams were interrupted and frightful, filled with the horrors of war.

My entire being was against violence. I may fight a little when I have to, but war? No. I wouldn't allow them to kill those I loved. I had worked so hard to bring peace, to bring AI and humans together peacefully. Drago could rip it all away. He could end so many lives. He could kill those I loved if I didn't do something. He had to listen to me. After all, I had convinced my father, the man who had been against AI since he gave his first cry. Now he trusted Toothless to protect me each day.

He loves me.

And I would be danged first to let him die if I could do something about it.

And Richard. The most loyal human ever to walk the earth. I think he'd give me his leg if I asked. He'd die in my place, I'm sure of it. I'd do the same. And now him and me were having opposite views. I hoped he would listen. He probably hoped I would.

Toothless. My other half. Quite literally, I've learned. Somehow, we're connected, because when he was injured, I felt his pain. When his chip was gone, I felt as though a part of me was missing. It's as if when I was making him, I put some of me inside.

It was unlike anything I had ever encountered.

These three are my family. And I will try to keep them close.

But fate had different ideas.

When I woke up, there was Toothless next to me. When I had returned, Richard had been gone. I hoped he was okay.

I stood up and was about to take a walk when a hand grasped my mouth. Panic shot through me, and I struggled against my attacker. Why wasn't Toothless doing anything?

"Mfthhhhp!"

"Shh." A familiar voice hissed.

I turned around to see my father there. "Wha.. dad? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to rescue you. You disappeared a while ago, and I've been looking for you." He smiled. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Uh... I don't need rescuing."

"C'mon." He began to walk. "I found a way out of here. We can leave before he..."

"Dad, wait. There's something you need to know."

"Tell me on the way. Where's Richard?"

"I don't know. He disappeared yesterday. This isn't a prison, dad. It's a..."

He looked around, ignoring me. "I'll find him. Follow me."

I sighed, giving up. Old habits die hard. He still had a habit of not listening to me. I followed him through the tunnels. We made it to the room we had first been dumped in when we arrived here. Valka was standing at the far end, watching us. Her staff dropped from her hands. She looked shocked, but quickly recovered.

Stoick stopped as if he'd seen a long dead ghost. His hands hung helplessly in the air.

I watched. "If you had been listening to me..." I muttered.

"I know what you're going to say, Stoick." Valka choked. "Why did I stay away? Why didn't I come back to you?"

Stoick began moving forward slowly, a reverent, wary saunter. Every step brought him closer to the woman he had thought was dead. The woman he loved.

I watched with wide eyes. My parents. Reunited. A smile sneaked onto my face.

"Well, what sign did I have that you could change? That anyone in this war loving world could? I pleaded so many times for you to listen. I pleaded for us to find another way, but did any of you listen?" Valka continued her one-sided argument.

Stoick was three feet away from her, still approaching.

"I know I left you to raise our son alone, but I thought he'd be better off without me. I was wrong, I see that now- Oh stop being so stoic, Stoick! Shout, scream, say something!" Valka obviously thought that this was the old Stoick.

He wouldn't even yell at _me_ anymore, and certainly not her.

He reached her, being taller than her. He reached down and kissed her on the forehead. When he spoke, he almost sounded like he had swallowed a desert. His voice was parched. "My love. I missed you so much. There are days that I wished I could die just to hear your voice again. And see your beautiful face. Which hasn't changed even a bit since the day you were carried out of the tunnels so long ago." His final few words ended in sobs.

She melted into his arms. They wrapped together, becoming one form in the light. They cried together, obviously happy to see each other.

I felt a warmth in my heart. Toothless watched from behind me, eyes wide and amazed.

Valka stopped crying and backed away a few inches. "Can you ever forgive me, Stoick?"

He nodded. She moved closer into him, relieved.

I inched closer, wanting to join a complete family. Stoick met my eyes. He hugged me into the circle, and I felt their warmth around me. I smiled, tears slowly rolling down my face. Toothless moved in and wrapped his wings around us protectively.

I had a family, and I wasn't going to let anything happen to them.

Fate...

Fate had other ideas.

It now mocks me from the edges of my misery. It now takes everything I earn.

It gets revenge.

It and death work together, like a team of thieves. They break in and destroy what sanity I have left.

Death now waits for me. I have cheated it forever, but it still waits.

Waiting.

Like a tiger behind the grass.

But for now, my happy little world is just me, my father and mother, and Toothless. Nothing can go wrong because my teenage cockiness and innocence will protect us. Richard is fine wherever he is. He'll return, happy and join in the hug. We'll defeat Drago and Viggo without a single death. Peace will last forever.

Hence... why everything went wrong.


	18. The battle to come

**Dear anonymous guest: I'm not replacing Astrid. She's still Hiccup's friend. I just wanted something other than a romantic relationship. I wanted something other than "Hiccup, the main character, gets the kick butt girl." It also serves a purpose for later chapters. NOT REPLACED. If you don't like the story, don't read it. You don't have to tell me off for replacing "Hiccstrid". I actually love Hiccstrid. I just didn't want it to be the focus of this story or take away from the friendship of Richard and Hiccup.**

* * *

I sat and watched my mother and father dancing. I was playing a song for them while they danced cheerfully. Toothless sat beside me, enjoying himself. But one person was still missing from the happy scene.

Richard. He still hadn't shown up, and I was getting deeply worried.

I stopped playing the flute. My parents stopped dancing and looked at me. Toothless seemed to sense my emotions and gave me a worried look. Stoick made his way over.

"Worried about Richard?"

I nodded.

"The guy can take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine."

I bit my lip. Something just didn't feel right. "Last time we saw each other, we weren't on the best of terms. I hope he comes back so we can talk it out."

Stoick's eyebrows furrowed. "What were you fighting about?"

"War." I felt frustration anew.

My father sighed. "You don't want to fight."

I shook my head. "No, I don't."

Stoick nodded. "Yeah, you have some strong standards. But what if you have to?"

I had an argument ready. "I won't, because there will never be a reason to."

"How do you know? Drago wants war, there's no way to change his mind. We have to fight to protect those who can't protect themselves." Stoick put a hand on my shoulder.

That's exactly what Richard said. Or tried to, anyway.

I bit my lip. "How do you know so much about this Drago guy, anyway?"

His face fell. Valka stiffened. I looked from one face to the other.

"We've encountered him before." Stoick said.

Not mysterious at all...

"Where? When?" I asked, prompting more. I was really curious.

My father sighed heavily. "A long time ago, me and other leaders of the underground colonies got together to discuss forming an alliance against the AI."

I nodded. Seemed simple enough.

"Well, in our midst came a scientist. Tanya Bludvist. She was brilliant. She told us we could build a machine that could reprogram the AI to be helpful instead of destructive."

My jaw fell.

"At first, we were hesitant to trust a machine. We finally agreed, but we had no idea what we were in for. She took parts, and lots of things we needed to survive. Then she disappeared. We never heard from her again. I do know she had a son."

"Drago." Valka said. "I know what happened after that. Tanya built a supercomputer. A machine capable of controlling thousands. It... killed Tanya. It then began to wreak havoc on the surface and underground alike. Drago was the one who reprogrammed the machine. And a few years ago, before you returned to the surface, it was destroyed."

I gasped. I had been the one to destroy it.

"I know that Drago is working with a scientist named Viggo to conquer again. It's possible they have a new supercomputer."

I felt a little dizzy. Toothless supported me, nuzzling my hand gently.

This was terrible. Things were going from bad to worse.

"So... now there's another one of those beasts. Well, Toothless and me can take it down. We did last time. I'll be careful about my leg this time." I laughed nervously.

Toothless seemed excited. "Yeah. Nothing controls me! We'll blow it to pieces!"

I sighed and buried my face into my hands.

Another computer.

Fate is waiting.


	19. I have to fight

An explosion ripped me from my dreams. At first, it seemed to be a part of the nightmares that haunted my nights. But moments later, more explosions ringed through the air. The room around me shook. Toothless started up with a jump and looked around wildly, startled.

"What's happening?"

I shrugged. "Beats me." I threw off the covers and grabbed my prosthetic, tying it on and grabbing my tunic. I ran through the halls, Toothless on my heels. We noticed Valka jumping on Cloudjumper and flying outside. I jumped onto Toothless and followed.

I was greeted with a terrifying sight.

An army of AI, tanks, and machines of all sizes surrounded the sanctuary, firing explosives that hit the metal walls. Friendly AI were being shot down and trapped. My mother was flying around, trying to free them. Cloudjumper was blowing up traps. My father was also among them, his AI, Metalcrusher, flying around trying to help.

We were terribly outnumbered.

I hovered high above, looking for the leader.

Drago.

I spotted a huge figure below, shouting orders. I took a chance and angled Toothless down. The figure turned to me. This man was huge, intimidating, terrifying, what's another word? He stared at me through gleaming eyes.

"So this... THIS is the inventor that they speak of. You are much more pathetic then I envisioned."

I suppressed a growl and moved forward. The man continued.

"I expected a man, not a boy. A one legged boy." He threw back his head and laughed. It was a throaty, horrible noise.

I winced. Toothless tensed behind me, silently begging permission to wipe him from the face of the earth. I held up a hand to calm him. He continued growling anyway, watching the man's every move through dangerously narrowed eyes.

I took a deep breath and moved forward.

Drago held up a hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. You have something to lose."

I snorted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Drago smirked. "I have one of yours. Caught him flying in our territory. Shot him down."

I stopped in surprise and tried desperately not to show it.

Drago noticed anyway. "Ah, so loyal to your friends are you? A very good quality. But an exploitable weakness for fools. Yes, I have him. A short one with brown hair and green eyes? Fierce one. Told me you were going to... "kick my butt." He obviously exaggerated."

I froze.

Richard.

No.

NO.

Rage swept though me, as well as guilt. I shouldn't have been so harsh... not to my best friend.

I pulled out my sword. Several familiar voices reached my ears, and I turned my head to the skies for a moment.

The riders. My friends. All with their AI, flying in and blowing things up. I didn't know how, or why, but I was thankful.

Drago was also distracted by the riders, so I took my chance to attack. All bets were off. Stoick was right. Richard was right. I had to fight to protect. I sliced my sword at Drago. I sliced his arm, and he jumped back with a growl. He pulled out a large pole-arm and began to swing it at me. I dodged, jumping around. An advantage of being small and nimble, I suppose.

"Hiccup!" Toothless leaped forward, sweeping the man over with his tail. I took my chance and leaped on Drago, holding my sword to his throat. He gasped and stared through hatred filled eyes.

I stared for a long moment. I didn't think I could kill him. My hand shook. Drago took his chance and struck me across the chest with his pole-arm. I gasped and fell over, and before I knew it, I was on the receiving end of a stab in the stomach. Toothless let out a furious roar and leaped at Drago. Drago turned and moved into the bulk of his army. He disappeared among the masses of attackers, which were still being rained on by fire from Fish, Ruff, Tuff, mom, dad, and Astrid.

I pulled myself to my feet despite the pain. I stumbled, only to be caught by Toothless. He stared at me through worried eyes. "Hiccup?"

I nodded. "M fine." I mumbled, getting onto his back.

A terrible noise filled the air. A huge monster, an AI, appeared seemingly out of nowhere, it had probably been hidden somehow. It moved toward the sanctuary, crushing things under its feet.

I had to stop that thing.

I guided Toothless into the air. He looked back at me. "Hiccup, you're hurt. This isn't a good idea."

I pushed him forward, despite sudden dizziness and a burning pain in my lower body. "We have to stop that thing."

He nodded and flew forward, despite his obvious fear for me.

That's when I saw him.

Richard was chained to the huge AI by his arms and legs, being held to it's front. He looked terrified and very upset, as well as badly injured. I stared helplessly at him. "No." I breathed. Toothless noticed him at the same time. "How are we going to save him?"

I shook my head.

I didn't know.


	20. A huge loss

**First off, I am SO sorry for the wait inbetween chapters, I'm suffering writers block, and I don't usually write up chapters in advance. I'll try to put out some more stuff now... but I'll also try to make sure it's interesting and well written.**

 **Stay patient with me. :)**

* * *

We first tried to get close to Richard, but the monster had a good defense, we couldn't get close. I decided Toothless should drop me on top, and I'd work my way down to my friend. Toothless was very against it.

"Hiccup, you just got stabbed in the stomach! I am not dropping you on that monstrosity!" He stared back at me, worried and irritated.

"Toothless, it's my fault Richard is there! I have to get to him, no matter what-"

Toothless shook his head. "Still out of the question."

I was about to make another counterargument when a wave of dizziness overcame me. I had trouble just staying on Toothless's back.

"And that proves my point." Toothless said doing a U-turn and heading towards the base of the sanctuary.

I feebly tried to argue to no success. Astrid landed nearby, apparently noticing even from a distance my worn state. She moved up to me while her mount looked on from a distance, looking worried. I collapsed partially against Toothless, exhausted. I could barely make out what was happening.

"S- save... R- r- rich.." I mumbled to her. I managed to point toward the large metal monster moving toward us before I fell unconscious.

* * *

I watched helplessly as the metal monster I was chained to began to destroy the sanctuary Valka had worked so hard to create. AI scattered out of it in all directions. I had caught a glimpse of Hiccup and Toothless earlier, but now they were gone.

What had happened to them?

The question remained unanswered. The monstrosity roared loudly. Immediately, every single AI I could see very suddenly changed direction and began to circle around the large computer. I didn't see Toothless. Or Inferno, or any of ours, which was comforting.

Marginally.

I hissed through my teeth as the monster dipped to the left. It had the sanctuary inbetween it's teeth. It pulled, and with a terrific groan that made my ears want to fall off, it collapsed.

Things weren't getting any better.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of silence. An eerie silence and darkness pressing in from all sides. It was uncomforting. Disconcerting.

I heard heavy footsteps.

Oh no. No. Not him again.

Drago Terrifying Bludvist came around the corner, a recently lit torch lighting him up from behind, making him look like a huge monstrosity himself. I failed to supress a shiver. Ever since he had shot me down, he had been the opposite of a friendly gracious chum of mine.

The wounds along my back would remind me of that for the rest of my life.

I clenched my fists as the man threw open the door keeping me from freedom- well except for the chains keeping me to the wall- and walked in like I was nothing.

"Well, well well. And how are we doing? Do you want a drink of water? Maybe an extra pillow? Your precious machine?" He laughed as if it was funny. I scowled darkly, not daring to open my mouth for a smart remark.

I paid for it last time.

"I have good news for you." He rasped. "Your little friend is dead."

I froze. Who?

Hiccup?

No. Not Hiccup.

Tears began to flow. Not him. NO.

"Hiccup?" I choked. "No. No."

Drago smirked. "Oh yes. I stabbed him in the stomach. He's as good as dead. As are you. I have no more use for you, so now you'll be joining him."

I scowled so hard my face hurt for a moment. I said a few words I usually wouldn't say to anyone. Drago didn't even faze. He motioned, and two men came in to escort me to my death.

* * *

Words couldn't describe the fear I was feeling. Here I was, ready to die. My two guards walked me down a long depressing hall in complete silence. My hands were tied, and if I tried anything, it would only end in minutes being shaved from my existence.

Think, Richard, think. You had training, you were an excellent fighter. You can do this. You can do this.

I was about to attack a guard and run for it, psyching myself up to do it, when the guard on my right suddenly punched the other one in the face, causing a brief tussle. I watched, surprised, as one guard fell to the floor. He was unconscious. I stared at the other one, confused. He made a 'shh' motion with one finger over his mouth and began to lead me down other hallways. We branched off, and light eventually began to shine from some window or door. After a while, we emerged outside, and the sunlight startled me. I blinked a few times. I turned to the guard and he began to untie me.

"Who are you?" I hissed.

"A friend." He hissed back from under the mask. "Don't worry, Inferno is being freed."

I let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "What now?"

"We wait."

He led me into some bushes, and we waited. After a disconcerting amount of time, I heard footsteps. I froze, staying silent. My mysterious helper peeked out of the bushes for a moment and then crept out of them, leaving me alone.

I heard his voice moments later. "It's okay, Richard, you can come out." I crept out of the bushes to see the mysterious helper, another guard, and Inferno. I immediately ran to inferno, happy to see him. I threw my arms around him, and he made a happy noise. I turned to my mysterious friends. "Alright, what now?"

"We leave." The second guard said. He sounded more like a her, though it was muffled.

Two AI appeared out of the bushes and joined us. I was shocked to see Metalcrusher and Stormfly II. The guards -maybe they weren't guards- got on them and we took off together. After we had been flying for a while, the Chief himself and Astrid took off their masks and began to brief me on what I'd missed.

I felt grateful for the rescue. "I guess flying off a few days ago wasn't the best idea I ever had." I said.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "No kidding."

The chief remained silent.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"We retreated to a small cave system near the sanctuary." Stoick said. "There aren't very many of us. Valka, Cloudjumper, Astrid, Fish, the twins, Toothless, and-"

I jumped on his words, my heart beating faster with hope. "Hiccup? Please say he's alive."

Stoick looked at me, a sad expression on his face.

Astrid remained silent.

Oh no.

* * *

 **And there we go. I know a lot of you have been waiting with bated breath. Well here you go. Another cliffy. :)**

 **Now then.**

 **Thank you all for the continued support!**

 **:D**


	21. Scars and wounds

I stared at the limp form on the ground, some blankets under and around him, Toothless close to him. His middle was wrapped in bandages, and his breathing was weak, his face pale. The others were either looking down at him, making food, or were out keeping watch. The cave we were in wasn't exactly large.

I walked up to Hiccup, who didn't move or stir at my approach. I sat down next to him. "Oh Hiccup, you gotta stop doing this to me. One of these days you might actually get yourself killed..." Guilt washed over me. If I hadn't left him, this might not have happened. Astrid sat down next to me.

"He'd better survive. I- we need him." Astrid said.

I caught the stutter. Wait, did she like him... more than just friendship kind of like? I knew almost every boy who had seen her had a crush on her, including me, but she had never shown interest in anyone, just being the greatest fighter alive. So now she had a thing for Hiccup. I guessed that ruled me out for being her boyfriend. I couldn't help but frown a little. But maybe if Hiccup knew, he'd try harder to live. Could he even hear us? I was kind of jumping to conclusions.

Astrid had grabbed Hiccup's hand and was gently rubbing it. Toothless was silent. There was a sad look in his eyes, a sort of desperation you'd expect from someone who could lose their closest friend at any moment. There was also a tired look. Hiccup's near death count was rising, after all. The boy seemed to have a thing for pushing his limits.

And so we waited for Hiccup to wake up.

* * *

Maybe I could push my way back to consciousness if I tried hard enough, but my body wasn't listening to me. It was as if it was saying 'Enough.' I couldn't move, trapped in this shell... every struggle against the coma seemed like it just made me weaker.

Memories moved through me faster than lightning. Is this what it was like to actually die?

The first thing I remember.

I was sitting in the main room of our underground house, four years old and clutching tight to my father, panic-stricken as AI dive-bombed the entire village. I was crying, and he was holding a sword, ready to protect me from an AI that looked like a bear wih spider legs.

A year later.

I'm sitting in my room, drawing a plan for something I would build years later. A shining blue and gold dragon to protect me from all harm. Me and my father. Stormfly.

Showing the picture to my dad.

His disappointed scowl and the long rant about how machines were horrible, most of which I tuned out.

My downward spiral into being the village loser. Getting beaten up so much I couldn't move. Laughs. Scowls. Scorning remarks. My father turning away from me and letting it all happen.

The visits from Dagur 'Dangerous' Deran from the Berserker colony in another bunch of tunnels, and his crazy games of 'let's see how we can make Hiccup fear for his life today'.

Building my first AI, Turtie.

Trying to learn to fight. Failing.

Richard becoming super popular and openly mocking me and beating me up _in front of my father._

Crying alone in my room, friendless. Considering or attempting suicide.

I remembered celebrating the ancient tradition of Chrich-mus with my father, but now I celebrated alone, if at all.

Making Toothless.

And everything else seemed like a blur as it rushed by. Was this it?

My entire life came down to this? I'd just got my mother back. It wasn't fair. I'd never become a great inventor. I'd never see Richard again. Toothless would fall into despair and disrepair without my knowledge of how he works. He'd break down and never be fixed. My father. Oh, what would he think now? I haven't even gotten to know my dad that well. I felt like I had so much more to learn from him.

Astrid.

I didn't even know if she had feelings for me, but I had a thing for her. Working together to build new and improved surface Berk had been amazing. Me and Fish were good friends, I had learned that 'Fish' was just his nickname, ever since he had fallen into a barrel of fish a long time ago. His real name was Matthew. Ruff and Tuff? They really knew how to relax and take it easy, and also how to play pranks without getting caught. I had enjoyed a few of those with them. Astrid? Well... we had worked a lot together, but it was always awkward because I didn't know how to act around her. I had barely kept from stuttering and looking like an idiot on many occasions, and my heart always went faster around her. She probably thought I was an idiot.

And I'd never get to tell her how I really felt.

Never.

It was useless. Just. Like. Me.

* * *

I walked up slowly to Hiccup. He was still unconscious. Beside Hiccup, kneeling, and it was embarrassing that I had really nearly missed him, was the Chief.

He was holding a wooden stick with carvings in it. I had never seen it before. Maybe?

"Sir," I said, sitting down next to him.

He turned to look at me for a moment, his expression unreadable. He then put the stick in his mouth and began to make music. A tune I didn't remember hearing before, but sounded kind of familiar. I realized what it was he was holding, It was a flute. I recognized the stick after a moment. It was Hiccup's. His flute. Maybe all that torture in Drago's dungeon rattled me more than I had thought.

I moaned softly. The music stopped.

"Richard?" The Chief looked at me, a worried expression plastered across his face. "Are you okay, lad?"

"Not really." I replied wearily. My back was stinging like crazy.

The large man put a hand on my shoulder, and immediately I winced in pain. His hand moved away, then began to gently pull of my shirt.

"Sir, please. I'm fine and you don't have to-"

"Richard. It's okay." He said softly. As he got it off, I waited for his reaction. I heard a soft gasp. "Great-"

I winced, curling up a little defensively. "It's fine. Just a few scrapes."

"A few scrapes? These are whip marks! Good gosh, Richard! What did Drago do to you?!"

The chief sounded scared for me. What should have said? 'Well, sir, I was whipped, tortured, beaten...' Eh... no. "It's nothing. I'm fine. Hiccup's the one you should be worried about."

The firm look of worry and fear the chief gave me next cracked my resolve to hide my pain a little.

I winced visibly. And the chief noticed. "If it hurts you to talk about it, then I understand."

I was about to speak, but was interrupted by a moan. Hiccup began to move a little, his breathing picking up, but it was laboured.

The chief looked at his son. "C'mon, Hiccup. Pull out." I heard him say softly. He had Hiccup's hand in his own and was squeezing it.

Hiccup's eyes fluttered open, but he didn't try to sit up. His eyes looked tired and unfocused. "Hiccup, can you hear me?" I said, a little louder than I intended.

"Metal... machine... rusty... flute..." He muttered. He wasn't making any sense! "Toothless... death. Help... help..."

"Hiccup, what are you trying to say?"

"I don't think he's trying to say anything." Stoick said. "He's still out of it."

"Leg. Book. Flute. Chip. Flight. Plans. Machines. Family. Alo- lone." He stuttered the last one, starting to cry. "Android. Android. Freak. Freeeeaaaak."

What on earth was he talking about? "You're not alone, Hiccup, do you hear me? I'm here. So is your dad."

"Metal. All metal. So much... lonely..." He began to fall unconscious again.

"No. C'mon, Hiccup!"

He snapped out of it in a split second, sitting up so fast we couldn't stop him. "Woah. How long have I been out?" He asked, looking dazed, but more focused.

My jaw kind of didn't know what to do for a moment, but the chief stepped in for me, very gently wrapping his arms around Hiccup to support him.

Hiccup realized I was here and stared at me for a good moment. "Richard. I-I... I'm sorry. We left each other on a bad note... and it could have been the last time we saw each other. Our friendship means a lot to me, I just want you to know that in case something like this happens again."

I nodded, tears forming in my eyes. Then I punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What... why did you do that?" He yelled, looking sort of confused.

I then wrapped my arms around him in a hug, relieved that we were together again. He hugged back, albeit kind of weakly.

"I forgive you if you forgive me." I said.

"Deal." He said.

* * *

 **I ship platonic Riccup :3**

 **Anyone feel me?**

 **I kind of realized how dark this chapter is and how the story is going... And there is some SERIOUS foreshadowing in this chapter.**

 **And I ended on a happy note instead of a cliffy.**

 **Please review!**


	22. Catching up

**Oh... y'know they have no romantic interest in each other... right? It's purely friendship. I established that. Nothing more and that's what it will always be.**

* * *

Drago slammed his fist into the wall again. "How!? HOW DID THAT LITTLE BOY ESCAPE!?"

Viggo watched the man throw his rage with a deadpanned expression. "I think he had help, sir. But not that it matters, you were going to kill him anyway."

Drago rounded on him faster than an angry dog. "Yes, Viggo, it does matter. It puts HOPE in their pathetic little hearts! It gives them STRENGTH when they survive. I only take a little happiness in knowing that the Berk heir brat is dead. If it weren't for that..."

Viggo rolled his eyes. "Oh come now, Drago. They are hopeless without the sanctuary. And we have most of the AI under your machine's control. And Frank's heir is dead. Why does one little escaped man matter?" He knew that it did matter, he was trying to calm Drago down. It didn't work very well.

Drago threw his sword at Viggo, narrowly missing the man and hitting the wall behind. Viggo tried to appear unfazed and almost failed. He winced inwardly.

"Do not mention that name again, Viggo."

"Who? Frank?"

Drago snarled. "That man. He survived my attack. I've been planning his death for years. And his brat. That boy is a genius. Almost too bad to waste it. But I want the entire Haddock family DEAD, do you hear me! Valka Haddock, Frank "Stoick" Haddock, and Hiccup Haddock! And I'm only one third there! So GET OUT THERE AND KILL THEM, VIGGO! START UP MY MACHINE AND HEAD TO WHERE WE SAW THEM LAST!"

Viggo nodded, suppressing a shiver, and turned and left.

He ran into his brother on the way out. "Why in the world do you let that guy boss us around, brother?" Ryker shook his head in disbelief.

"It's all part of the bigger plan, brother. Have faith. Little does Drago know Hiccup is alive, just as I planned. pieces are falling together, and soon, we will have our prize. The smartest boy in the world."

* * *

I helped Hiccup stand up for the first time since he'd woken up. He was stiffened with pain, but was trying not to show it. I supported him as we moved across the room. I figured strengthening him a little would help. He'd been lying for a while and needed to stretch his legs, get some exercise. Toothless watched us from the side of the small cave area, eyes fixed on Hiccup. Finally, he spoke.

"I don't know how you do it."

We both turned to him. "What?" Hiccup asked.

"Survive. We've been to heck and back, you have been in constant danger, sometimes self-made, and you have nearly died 147 times to date. How in the world are you alive, and mostly intact?" Toothless said.

Hiccup and me exchanged bewildered looks. Hiccup was the first to speak. "You've been keeping track?"

"No, but you've been giving me plenty of time to do the math." Toothless replied, sort of deadpanned.

I snorted with amusement and Hiccup looked at me, sort of confused. "What? He's right! You are your own hazard, Hicc, you know that?"

He crossed his arms, letting go of me. "I can't help it if I'm like that! I have inventions to test! And people are always trying to kill me or use me!"

I held up my hands. "Hey, hey. I didn't mean it like that. But half those inventions you make have some sort of danger to them."

He snorted. "Like what?"

"Uh let's see. Your jetpack? Nearly got you killed on the side of a house." Toothless said. "If I had been a second later, we would have been scraping you off with a spatula."

"Okay, give me another example." Hiccup said. "Not all of my inventions are dangerous."

I answered. "Uh... your house builder? It nearly built one on top of you."

Before Hiccup could answer, Toothless jumped in. "The automatic cooking kitchen? The one that malfunctioned and nearly gave you a 'dad sandwich'?

I nodded. "I remember that. Chief was none too pleased."

Hiccup snorted.

"The tree mover?" Toothless suggested.

"Oh, now that was just a bad idea." Hiccup said.

"We had a hard time cleaning up all those branches and thrown trees for a week." Toothless said. "One nearly crushed Richard."

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me about that. I had tree nightmares for months." I said shakily, shuddering.

"But the look on your face. I never thought you'd be so scared of plants that you were on a meat diet for that long." Hiccup laughed.

I rolled my eyes heavily. "I could have died."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, yeah, I admit alot of them are dangerous. But name one that wasn't."

A long silence.

"My sweater maker?" He offered.

"Nope, no good. It nearly choked your father." Toothless said.

Hiccup's face fell. "Oh yeah."

"Eh, it's not all bad. Some of those things actually work. And make our lives better. For example..." I gestured to Toothless. Hiccup cheered up almost immediately.

"...And," Toothless added. "I make everything better!"

"Well, who taught you humility?" Hiccup said. "They didn't do it very well."

"Weren't you supposed to?" Toothless asked, making a cheeky face.

I laughed loudly. "I guess that CAE chip gave him an ego, too!"

Toothless puffed himself up. "Why not?" We all broke out laughing.

* * *

Stoick approached Valka slowly, not knowing exactly what to say. He had been rehearsing things in his head for the past few hours, but nothing seemed to work. She turned to look at him, eyes wary. They had gotten over the initial shock of seeing each other again for the first time in 17 years, but catching up and rebonding would be hard. They were both nervous. Neither spoke for a long time.

"So. Er..." Stoick started. "How did you..." He never finished the question, he had no idea what to say. Valka turned away awkwardly.

"How are you?" Stoick asked finally.

"My home is gone. And many of my friends are captured by Drago. My son nearly died. How do you think I feel?" Valka said, voice forced.

Stoick felt a streak of resentment. "Don't you mean _my_ son? You weren't even there to raise him."

Valka snorted. "He's mine as much as he is yours. Don't forget all that trouble I went through just to bring him into this world."

"And what about all that stress I had worrying for you and him? If you'd survive?" Stoick asked.

"Oh you worried for me, did you?" Valka asked.

"Of course I did! I loved you, Valka, and I still do! And I wanted a future with you and our child!" Stoick said.

Valka sighed. "Stoick..."

"Please, Val. Call me by my other name." The man answered.

"Why? The other one suits you better, 'Stoick the Vast'." There was a hint of mocking in her voice.

"You know I only got that nickname because I got taller." He joked, arms on his hips. "I prefer Frank. Even though no one dares to call me that, and my own son doesn't know my real name."

She smiled, unable to resist. The ice melted. "So you want me to speak frankly with you?"

He gave her a look almost worthy of his son. She laughed at his reaction, a smile lighting her face. He laughed as well, happy to see her happy, but also because she had made such a bad joke. He moved forward.

"Oh, how I missed you." He said wistfully.

She nodded. "I... I did miss you as well."

"Will you come home? After all this Drago business is over? If we survive? Will you come back to me?" Frank asked earnestly.

She looked hesitant. "I..."

"We can be a family!" He urged.

"Well... yes. Yes! Why not?" Valka smiled and threw her arms around him. They danced.

"Although, we might have to do something about your cooking. Your meatballs kill more AI than a battleaxe."

She looked appalled, but he realized she was faking. "They're not that bad, are they?"

"Some people have joked that Haddock cooking could be a viable weapon in battle." Frank said with a straight face.

She snorted. "Is Hiccup any better at cooking?"

"Yes. He learned how at some point. But as long as he doesn't experiment, usually he's able to create delicious food."

"What do you mean 'at some point'? You knew what he was up to most of the time, right?"

Frank gulped. Now came the difficult explanations for how their son grew up.

"I wasn't exactly the best father..."

* * *

Astrid sat outside the cave, looking around. I watched her, unsure how to approach. Richard had told me I should talk to her, but I wasn't sure what to say. Finally, I swallowed my fear and began moving toward her. This was way scarier than I had thought. 'C'mon Hiccup, pull yourself together. You've been friends for a few good years, she respects you! She doesn't think you're an idiot. Just go up there and-'

"Hiccup. You're up." I stared into her blue eyes.

'nopenopenope'

"Er... Hi Hiccup- Astrid. How are you?" My brain was trying to sabotage me. I could feel it giving up. Why was this so difficult when I had approached her so many times before for building plans and other things?

She was just giving me an odd look. Had she caught my stutter? What was she thinking? What would she SAY? 'nonono oh man' Leave. Maybe just leave.

"Pretty good. How are you feeling, Hiccup? It can't be fun being stabbed."

'Oh of course she brings up that oh how do I respond-' "Tine. I'm F-fine!" 'Oh I feel so stupid.'

She's smiling at me. I smile awkwardly back, trying to relax my sweaty palms. 'WHY'

"Good to hear. Did you want something?" She runs a hand through her hair. 'Oh boy here we go how is she so CALM'

"Uh... not much. Just wondering how you are that's all." 'go for it idiot'

She nods, seeming... disappointed? 'what did I do now' I stand there for a good minute. Toothless, who has been watching this pathetic exchange the whole time, decides to make his move.

"Oh, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, you both love each other, SO SAY IT!" 'Verrrry subtle.'

I facepalm. Astrid blushes.

'Thank you for nothing, Toothless.'

* * *

 **The second "chunk" of this story is almost done. What will be the climax... hmm? *evil laugh***

 **Please review!**


	23. Checkmate

**Wow Threni likes my story. I mean maybe it isn't a big deal but I feel so honored. It isn't often someone who you admire turns around and admires you.**

* * *

Astrid ran into the cave, looking very nervous and scared, which was unlike her. I looked on from the side. Hiccup was sitting with Toothless. I knew _something_ had happened between him, Hiccup, and Astrid, because Astrid and Hiccup were even _more_ awkward around each other.

Stoick and Valka came in, noticing the pale, panting Astrid. Fish, the twins, and the rest of the AI looked at her. Stormfly II looked at us from next to Astrid.

"What is it, lass?" Stoick asked.

He asked what we had all been thinking. Astrid gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Dra... go... going... to... Berk. Army..." She started to collapse, and I was shocked to see an arrow in her back. Hiccup ran forward, surprising all of us, and caught her.

"Fish! Get some bandages!" He yelled, getting her lower to the ground.

Fish nodded and moved to his pack, which was on his AI. He handed them to Hiccup, who had managed to pull out the arrow. Stoick, meanwhile had processed what Astrid had conveyed and began telling everyone to get ready for a long and fast trip to Berk. We had to beat Drago there at all costs.

I unfroze and moved to Hiccup, who was tenderly wrapping bandages around Astrid. "Er... will she be okay?"

Hiccup's face went a little red. "Yes."

Astrid's eyes opened again, and she grabbed his hand. "Hicc... Berk..."

"We know. We're going to get there." He replied.

"Good..." Astrid said quietly.

"Shh. Just rest." Hiccup said, motioning for Stormfly II to come help her. "You'll be fine."

The plan was that most of us would fly straight and fast to Berk, but Stormfly II, Valka, and Cloudjumper would take Astrid around the longer and easier way, and meet us there. Astrid would be stronger by then, and even if she wasn't, she would get to Berk an easier way that would be less of a strain on her.

So we set out.

* * *

We got to Berk. We had beaten Drago, or so we thought, anyway. His machine was invisible, but the flock of AI he had controlled weren't. We didn't have much time. Any moment, Drago could appear.

Stoick landed his AI and began moving around the town, ordering people to prepare for battle. Hiccup didn't, follow, instead, he moved toward me.

"What should we do?" I asked. Behind me, Fish and the twins had landed.

"We prepare for a fight." Hiccup said, resolute. There was a spark in his eyes. "We defeat Drago once and for all."

I was slightly surprised, but nodded. "Oh yeah. Together." I put my hand down and the others joined me.

"Go team, go!" Tuff yelled.

"YEAH!" Ruff agreed.

Fish nodded. "Go us!"

Hiccup put his hand in last. "We take him down or go down fighting."

So much for peace. This was war.

Drago's machine appeared on the horizon, casting a huge, ominous shadow. The AI flew in circles around it. It was a terrifying sight.

The army was around the machine on the ground. They all yelled loudly, war cries echoing. The machine gave a roar that was louder than them all and made them sound like mice. Our AI took to the air as well, Berk vs Drago's army.

Or was it?

I began to realize that the AI were ours, but riderless.

'Oh no.'

All our AI flocked around the machine, joining Drago. Inferno, Metalcrusher, the twin's AI, and Fish's too. Toothless was suddenly frozen, ears perked straight up. Hiccup turned to him, scared.

"Bud? Don't leave me." He moved forward, hand against his friend's nose. "Stay with me."

I watched Inferno go, suddenly terrified. What would we do without the AI's? This was bad. Very bad. If Toothless weren't present, I would have sworn. (Hiccup told me he didn't want Toothless knowing such language.)

I heard Stoick give the order to fire. I swallowed. We would be hitting our own. Boulders of various sizes flew up and hit the giant machine's... shield. A giant invisible wall around it that glowed blue when hit. Just excellent. This day wasn't getting better. Habit took over me, and I turned around.

"Inferno, sky-" I facepalmed. No Inferno. But the sight I did see terrified me.

Hiccup and Toothless were both frozen, looking like statues amongst the chaos as AI began to attack Berk. Hiccup suddenly got onto Toothless, and before I could act, the two of them were in the sky. They moved up, and I watched, helpless. I was barely aware of the twins running for some weapons and Fish standing still, panic-stricken. Toothless let loose a fireball... at a house. Oh crud, that's when it dawned on me.

Toothless- _and Hiccup_ were under control of Drago's machine. I didn't know how. But there was no other explanation. I watched, terrified as they dive bombed house after house.

We were losing.

It was getting worse, and we were losing badly.

"No." I breathed.

* * *

Stoick gave the order to fire again when an AI landed in front of him. Old habits kicked in, and he dove for it's fuel line, slicing it open. The AI dropped to the side faster than a tree in a lightning storm.

He didn't have time to process what just happened, as a bright blue explosion blew something up over his head. He looked up to see Toothless dive bomb a catapult.

"What the-"

He watched his son and the flying machine gracefully dodge a boulder and blast another house. He was aghast. What on EARTH was his son DOING?

He was about to make the difficult order to shoot down Toothless when Richard ran up to him.

"Sir! Hiccup and Toothless are being controlled by the machine!" He gasped between breaths.

"How?"

"I don't know, but we have to get them to stop! You have to get me to them!" He yelled.

"But how would we?" Stoick asked as another explosion rang.

Richard pointed to a catapult. Stoick shook his head. "Out of the question!"

"I know! But we have no choice!" Richard yelled back. He ran to the catapult and got in. Shaking his head, Stoick ran up and aimed for the general area of Toothless. He pulled the lever, and Richard was thrown into the air. He had precious seconds, but he managed to grab an AI and began to move from one to the next, trying to get to Toothless. He jumped onto Toothless's back, where Hiccup was riding. Richard grabbed Hiccup, who tried to shake him off.

"Hiccup! You gotta hear me! You gotta stop! It's Richard!"

A frantic tussle began, which forced Toothless to stop his attack, lest he throw off his rider. Richard struggled against Hiccup, having thought he would never have to fight his friend again. Hiccup's eyes were slightly unfocused and blurry, the pupils small as if he was staring into a bright light. But he still hit accurately. Richard got a swing at his head, but only grazed Hiccup's head as he ducked. Richard finally figured out what he had to do. With one motion, he swung himself around Hiccup, and punched the boy clear off Toothless. He landed in a tree and hit the ground. He was still moving, thank goodness. Richard then pulled out his knife and stuck it into Toothless's spine, hitting a wire that controlled his wings. Toothless crumpled mid flight and the two landed on the ground, went into a roll that ended with Toothless on top. The AI had his claws brushing Richard's neck.

"Uh- uh Toothless buddy, please don't..." Toothless fell over after a moment, and Richard saw Stoick on the other end. He had stuck an arrow into Toothless's head.

"Uh, sir, I had been trying to do it without hurting him, because now Hiccup's gonna kill me."

"It was him or you." Stoick said, helping Richard up. "He can be repaired. You can't be put back together. Now. We have a battle to fight."

* * *

Drago watched the battle taking place with a smug grin on his head. Berk was almost in ruins. He could see bodies everywhere from his vantage point, burning trees and buildings, and so many AI. And they were all his. He heard footsteps and turned around. Viggo was standing there, something in his hand.

"What do you want? I thought you would be down there." Drago hissed.

"I'm not the battling type. More of a chess sort."

Drago stood. "Look at this, Viggo. They don't even stand a chance."

"Maybe they will." Viggo said, smirking.

"What?"

"Checkmate."

He held up the gadget, and pushed the big red button. And immediately, explosions rang from all directions. The machine lit ablaze, it's legs blown out from under it. Viggo disappeared in the chaos, and Drago felt his macine tilt dangerously to one side. The shield went down, and the AI stopped attacking. Hiccup was released from his spell-like trance, and saw Toothless lying over near a building. He ran to the AI and put a hand on him, only to feel pointy things on his back. He froze. Richard and Stoick got back with their AI, as did Fish and the twins, and the rest of Berk. They began their attack, not letting up until the machine gave one last groan and blew up in a blaze. Richard pumped a fist in the air.

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **Mmmmhmhmhmhm. :)**

 **Mmmmhmhmhmhm.** **Muahahahahaha!**

 **Please review. Yes indeed, please review.**


	24. The missing brother

**I should probably tell you that this story is broken down into three big chunks that are their own smaller self contained stories, each twelve chapters long. So the second chunk is nearly done. And when this one ends, I'm going to write all the chapters for the third chunk before I upload any, so heads up, there will be a wait.**

* * *

After Drago's army left, there was a lot to tend to. Fires, deaths, and lots of damaged AI lying left and right. In the next few days of cleanup, no one noticed the absence of a certain person and his AI friend. Until everything was caught up. After it was realized who was dead and who was not, everyone was found, either dead or alive.

Except Hiccup and Toothless.

* * *

I paced back and forth, worried sick. We had searched for Hiccup and Toothless for days now. There was no sign of them, and this was creating a sinking feeling in my stomach. Valka walked in, holding a plate of chicken.

"Richard, you need to eat. You've been all over, and you haven't spared a thought for your stomach." She said, holding out the plate.

I put a hand to my head. "No no no. I can't eat now." My stomach was cramping, but more from worry than hunger. "Hiccup-"

"Doesn't need a hungry friend, or a half starved collapsed man. C'mon, eat it." She handed me a chicken leg. I loved chicken, but as I looked at this, I had never seen something so unappetizing in my life. I shoved it back onto the plate.

"Sorry, ma'am, no offence, but I can't. I'm not hungry." I croaked. "I just want to know if Hiccup is alright."

* * *

Weeks went by.

Months.

There was no sign of them. Nothing.

So... Stoick began to train me for chiefing. And...

Hiccup and Toothless were proclaimed dead.

* * *

"Now, a Chief's first duty is to his people."

I stared up at Stoick, who was talking about the first rules of 'chief'in'. My mind was so bored, it was scattering all over my head, looking for distractions, and begging me to leave. It kept reminding me that Hiccup was out there. There was no way he could be dead. I had to go find him.

"-now, can you repeat anything I just said?" Stoick asked.

My mind froze, and I stared up at Stoick with the blankest of looks. I didn't dare open my mouth, move or even blink. I had just tuned out _the chief._ I winced inwardly. He stared, unamused. He raised one thick eyebrow at me.

"...and you can't, can you?" He said, crossing his arms. He placed a hand over his face and let out an exasperated sigh. "Rich, you know this is important. With Hiccup gone, you need to focus. I was going to make you my successor anyway, and now... it's just even more important. Now. Can you remember _anything_ from the last fifteen minutes?"

"Uh... this is important?" I said.

He scowled. This was like the fifth time we had tried this, but I was so distracted and itchy to go find my lost friend that I just didn't have the attention span to soak in 'how to chief'. He looked about to start going over it again, but stopped. He noticed my dejected look.

"Richard. Maybe some other way of learning will help you." I looked up at him, cautiously curious.

"Time to be chief for a day."

And... not what I had in mind.

* * *

 **\- 1.4 years since the disappearance of Hiccup and Toothless -**

* * *

I stared down at the papers I was documenting. I had been doing fine for a while, but as I stared at it, the words and numbers just looked like mindless three year old toddler scribbles bunched together. With a frustrated grunt, I brushed the papers aside and buried my face in my hands.

"Oh, why did you have to disappear, Hiccup! This was supposed to be your job! You're supposed to be here!"

I missed him. And to think, five or six years ago I would have thrown a party, and only been a little disappointed that my punching bag was gone. I really had changed. After a few months of being Stoick's chief in training, I was doing well, and he kept saying it would only be a couple years until I was ready. I didn't feel ready at all.

I grabbed one of the papers that had numbers for how well our crops had been doing this year and crumpled it up into a little ball, throwing it at the fireplace in front of me. It landed in the flames and burned down to ashes in seconds. I repeated this until I reached the bottom of the stack of documents, and grabbed a picture I had brought with me for a while now. It was a drawing Hiccup had made for me of him, Toothless and me together, happy. I was practically his brother. His father and mother were treating me as such. So I missed my family.

I hugged the drawing against my chest, crying. Where was a one-legged man and his dragon AI when you needed them the most?

* * *

 **A spoiler from the next epic adventure:**

I stared at the monster before me. He held a large blaster which was apparently his arm to my head. What had once been my best friend was now a hybrid of human and machine. Hiccup.

His half metallic face held a wicked, taunting grin. A fake voice came from his mouth. "Any last words?"

 **And that's the end of number two for now! Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Please review!**


	25. Ominous darkness

**I kind of wish this story was more loved, since it's probably my best, but k then...**

* * *

The black of night. In the fog, a figure moves from tree to tree in the woods, using the shadows to travel. They find a small shack and move to it, knocking twice, waiting, then knocking once. The door opens.

"Do you have it?" A voice asks.

The figure nods and hands out a package. The man inside the door moves to take it. The figure pulls it back.

"Payment first. Then product." He rasps.

"Fine." The other spits. He reaches from his pocket and pulls a knife, stabbing the deliverer. "Payment is given." He drags the man inside and closes the door. He presses a knot on the wood, and the floor of the shack moves down, revealing an elevator. A few minutes later, it reaches the bottom, revealing a huge lab. The man drops the deliverer's body down a sort of disposal unit, then unwraps the package. It's a blue heart sort of shaped thing that is pulsing. The man rubs a finger down it, grinning wickedly.

"Alright. Let's get you into your new body."

He flips some switches, an an ominous looking thing comes out of the floor, creating steam. Inside is some sort of blurry thing, it's unclear what is in there because of the foggy glass. But whatever is in there isn't moving. The man opens the large container, and inside is a man shaped sort of android. The man puts the blue heart inside a sort of compartment inside the android.

Its eyes snap open.

* * *

I walked down the street, taking note of everything. AI and humans, working together as if the battle between us and Drago had never happened. I could see Fish working with Meatlug in the fields, Ruff and Tuff were working with weapons development with Barf and Belch, their AI, and Astrid was practicing flying manoeuvres with her defense and protection class. Or DAP. The DAPs were like the guard we used to have, but with the inclusion of AI. Which was handy. Inferno and me were in there too, except we had more pressing things.

Like chiefing. I was going to be made chief officially in a month, and it was kind of scary, except that I had finally accepted Hiccup's death and put seriousness into my training. I squeezed my hands together.

Hiccup.

What would he say if he could see what Berk, the once barely survivable underground colony had become. It was now a bustling village, with a sorts of amazing things that made it good. We had many ways of getting food and water, many ways of building houses, keeping livestock, keeping our AI friends working, and we were working on a very good defense system.

Berk was thriving.

Trade and relations with other colonies such as Outcast and Beserk was improving, and despite the fact that they were against fighting, we were making progress with Embersight.

The violent past was well behind us. And the future was looking bright.

Valka and Chief were definitely back together, and although they missed Hiccup greatly, they were treating me like family. My father had been badly wounded in the battle with Drago, and my mother had been killed. Many others were dead as well, among them Astrid's uncle. But that was in the past, we were moving on.

Moving forward, not back.

I kept telling myself that, even as I had lost so much... I had gained a honorary father and mother, since Hiccup and me had gotten along like brothers. I owe so much to him.

I miss him.

Forward.

Inferno walked up to me, rubbing himself against me. I put a hand on his metal body, knowing well he had no feeling in it didn't discourage me. He still cared for me, thanks to the CAE chip. I grinned, happy to have him as a friend. There was no way I would have thought he would be years ago.

Hiccup had changed our world.

* * *

I moved into the Chief's house, sitting down. He had told me I was free to come by anytime, make myself at home. So I sat down and stretched out after a slightly rough day, relaxing myself. Valka came in a while later, and saw me, partially asleep. She smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Tough day?"

"Mmyeah." I muttered. "The twins caused another fire."

"Isn't that just like them." She laughed.

I snorted. "Yeah. They cause damage."

She gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sure you did fine. After all, Stoick trained you well."

I nodded. "Yeah."

I just wished someone else was here to step into that responsibility instead of me. But they had made plenty of arguments.

He's dead, and even if he isn't, he's not here. He might refuse it anyway. You're a better choice because you have a sense of loyalty and responsibility. You are a natural leader.

Some of those just weren't true and they knew it, they just wanted to make me feel better. But this was it.

* * *

Now I was sitting on the roof of a watchtower on the edge of Berk's city limits. Just staring out into the distance. I wasn't even sure what I was thinking about. Just thinking, thoughts swirling and darting through my head. I felt so confused. I stood and slipped off the roof, swinging myself and landing in the tower itself, where a DAP was on duty with his AI.

"Sir," He said, giving a small bow.

I nodded and climbed down the ladder, heading off into the forest. Just as a whim. I didn't really care where I would go. What I would do. I just wanted to get away from everything for a while. Appreciate the forest with the smaller and larger trees, wildlife that was now thriving, birds flying around. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the gaps in the trees and splashed all over the forest floor, squirrels and mice were eating lazily and not even bothering to dart away when I walked by. It felt good, and the strain of everything fell away for a while.

After meandering all over, my feet for some reason took me to a river with a large willow tree (one that had survived the war against the AI since being a sapling, miraculously enough) and a couple of large rocks. My heart sank as I realized where I was. This was one of Hiccup's favorite spots to relax. I could almost see an outline of him as if he was a ghost resting here, sitting on the larger rock with a stick in his hand, creating swirls in the water and playfully jabbing at fish. Toothless was next to him, tail twitching as if he was alive and hunting the fish, even putting his metal claws in the river and creating splashes.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from it, and my eyes burned. Just when it seemed I had let them go, they came back as if to haunt me with bittersweet memories.

"Hey Toothless, you're gonna rust yourself! Stop it!" Hiccup yelped half crossly as Toothless splashed him again.

Toothless snickered and created a huge splash that caused Hiccup to drop his stick with a yelp as he was soaked in the tidal wave. He spat out a small stream of water that he had swallowed, his bangs down over his eyes and his fur vest drooping. He then snorted in irritation.

"I'd splash you back, but it'd just wreck your machinery."

Toothless toppled over, laughing at the soaked boy. Hiccup pretended to pout but quickly dropped the act and laughed as well.

"I did make you waterproof, however, and I can always replace your parts if you need it." He stopped laughing with a mischievous smirk.

Toothless stopped laughing too, and smiled nervously. "Uh..."

Hiccup shook his head. "I will get you back. Maybe not today, but someday."

I remembered watching this play out at least... three years ago? Hiccup had invited me close, and we had laughed into the evening. One of the best times we had had here. Tears now streaked freely down my face now.

"Dang it, Hiccup. Dang it." Was all I could manage. "Just... dang it."

I wasn't aware that I was being watched. By someone in the bushes, silent as the trees. I wasn't aware. This person, whoever it was, also faintly remembered the river, Toothless, me, the willow tree. But those thoughts were being drowned out by one simple mission.

To destroy Berk.


	26. Android

I stared out at the figure standing by the river from my hiding place. He looked twenty at most, wearing a red shirt and some simple armor. He was alone. He would be an easy target. Except that wasn't my mission today. I crept silently closer and zoomed in on him with my one prosthetic eye cover, scanning him. He was crying, his heart rate was above normal, and his eyes were dilated, staring as if to something that wasn't there. I made a note of him and watched his movement to figure out what his place was. Was he a sentry? A guard? A fisherman or food gatherer? What would happen if I killed him?

He began to speak, and I listened.

"Dang it, Hiccup. Dang it." He choked.

Hiccup.

Who was that? A friend of his? No worry. He must have been mad at someone, perhaps some petty human argument where he had come out here to pout afterwards. Humans. I rolled my eyes. Pathetic balls of emotion. Stupid fleshlings. I smirked. Well, this man wouldn't live as flesh much longer... once Viggo got what he wanted. The entire village of Berk would be his soon enough.

"Heh. Look at me, Hiccup." The man was speaking. "I-I'm a mess again. And all it took was one memory. Why do you have to haunt me? Is it because you're mad at me? Because I'm sorry. I really am. Whatever I did."

I smirked. Dumb human, whoever you're talking to isn't here. You're alone, you logic lacking ape.

But whatever he was saying... it was having a weird affect on me. Something in my mind, deeper then circuitry and machinery was awakening ever so slightly. A faint flickering candle deep in my very soul. But immediately it was blocked by a nasty zap from my machine heart. A reminder that I was not human. It was a failsafe to keep me from feeling or malfunctioning. Viggo put it there.

The faint memory of a boy with auburn hair faded the moment it tried to surface. He did not exist.

Deciding that this man knew I was here and had found a way to mess with my circuits, I decided he was a threat to my mission. I primed my blaster.

He would die.

* * *

I started as something rustled in the bushes. My thoughts immediately turned from Hiccup to what was in the bushes.

"Hello? Who's there? Ruff? Tuff?"

Something flew out of the bushes on the other side of the river and pinned me to the ground. I stared at the monster before me. He held a large blaster which was apparently his arm to my head. Despite the machinery and the freaky glowing eye, I _recognized_ him.

It was Hiccup.

What had once been my best friend was now a hybrid of human and machine. Hiccup.

HICCUP. My brain flew into a fury of thoughts. He was ALIVE? He was **ALIVE!**

His half metallic face held a wicked, taunting grin. A fake voice came from his mouth. "Any last words?" I heard a sickening wirr coming from the blatser pinned to my head. "I so enjoy what humans have to say before they die, like 'Spare me!' or 'Oh no, don't shoooot!'." His tone had so much mocking in it.

My thoughts of 'will he kill me' were still being overrun by a torrent of 'HE'S ALIVE!' My excitement got the best of me.

"Nothing? Hmm a shame." The machine covered Hiccup purred. "I guess you die without last words."

"HICCUP! I-I Y-YOU'RE ALIVE! And looking a little odd, I admit, but-"

The android started. He said nothing. So I continued. "Oh gosh, it's so good to see you! What happened? I missed you so much! They all told me you were dead, but I never believed it and oh my gosh I was right, you're alive!" I was crying again with pure joy this time.

The android smirked. "Ha. He ha ha ha. Very fuuunny, human scum. You had me for a second there. You really did." He pushed the blaster into my head roughly. "Those are the worst, most pathetic last words I've ever heard. What an oh so sad attempt to get me to stop. Too bad it _failed._ "

My heart began to sink. This wasn't Hiccup. It couldn't be! He would never be this rough, this cruel, this nasty. But it was clearly him. When I looked into the one good eye, it was him. Despite the cruel pleasure he was taking in seeing me scared and trapped, when I looked into that green eye, I saw every bit my friend had been.

"Hiccup, where's Toothless?" I asked.

Hiccup reacted to this by wincing visibly as if he was in pain. "He doesn't exist." Hiccup hissed. "He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist!"

"He does! You built him! You gave him LIFE, Hiccup! You LOVED him! He LOVED you! I LOVED YOU! You're my BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

 _ **"HE DOESN'T EXIST!"**_ The android roared.

I froze, my heart leaping into my chest and trying to reach out to Hiccup.

"He doesn't exist." The android hissed, calming down. "There is no Hiccup. There is no Toothless. There was no friendship. No love." He was icily calm now. "I feel nothing. NOTHING."

"Hiccup..." I whispered in a small voice. "Please, you would never hurt me."

"Oh would I?" The android croaked. "Well then." He moved closer, staring me in the face. "Fine. But we WILL meet again."

And with that, he hit me on the head with his blaster and everything blacked out.


	27. Desperation

I came too in the Chief's house with a nasty headache. Some patrol must have found me. And I was now thanking my lucky stars I was alive. I had to tell them about Hiccup. I forced myself to my feet and made my way down the stairs. Stoick and Valka were standing together, murmuring worriedly about me. I cleared my throat and they turned to me.

"Rich, you should be resting. That's a nasty bump on your head." Stoick watched me approach with a concerned expression. My head did hurt, but there was something more important.

"Hiccup is alive."

They exchanged bewildered looks. "Richard, we've been over this-"

"No, he is. I came across him in those woods. He isn't the same person he used to be, he's been changed somehow. But I promise you, he's ALIVE." I strained every word. "And I have to get him back."

Stoick moved closer and put his hands on my shoulders. "You did hit your head hard, Richard. You could have been seeing things."

I couldn't believe this. "Chief, please, he's your son! Wouldn't you love to see him again? Valka? You love him, don't you? You have to believe me! I saw him! He hit me on the head! He was _real,_ not some figment of my imagination!" I paused. "Please, you have to... he's real. He's just as alive as I am. He's out there, brainwashed or something, has no idea that we love him and we want him back. He doesn't know about anything he did, he's helplessly confused..."

Stoick shook his head. "There's no way he could be alive. And even if he is, there are more important things-"

"More important than _Hiccup?_ Are you _serious?"_ I yelled, losing my temper. "He's the one who changed our world for the better! He's a brilliant inventor, a great friend, and he's LOST! What could possibly be more important?!" I balled my fists so tightly my knuckles were white.

Stoick looked irritated. "You interrupted me. I was going to say that YOU have more important things to be doing. If you're THAT sure that he's alive, I'll send out a few DAP patrols to look for Hiccup. If he's there, we'll find him, and if he's not, we put this to rest, understood?" He crossed his arms, not waiting for an answer. "Now. There are things that you need to be doing."

I snorted. "What?"

"Resting. To bed, now. _March,_ boy."

Grumbling to myself, I turned and marched up the stairs. I turned the corner and closed the door, my anger fading. I realized how stupid I was acting. What if this was a waste of everyone's time? What if I had dreamed all that? I had seen Hiccup and Toothless by the river, what if cyborg Hiccup had been my imagination, my tired, desperate mind playing tricks on me? I sighed sadly and flopped onto the bed. My head was throbbing. Sleep took a long, long time to come, and when it did, my dreams were confused and troubled.

And I dreamed of a time with my lost family.

* * *

Feeling crept into my body. I opened my eyes to darkness. It must have been late at night. Pulling myself out from under the covers and creeping down the stairs, I looked around in the dim light and saw nobody. I moved towards the door and opened it, peeking into the streets. There was nobody there. I moved off into the forest, relaxing even in the pitch black of night. There was nobody here. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing or where I was going, but I was determined to prove myself right about Hiccup. I had to find him. I had to bring him back to me, I had to remind him who he was. I crossed a river, the same one with the willow tree. I continued out and out, further and further, hoping, crossing my fingers that Hiccup would be there.

After wandering till morning light, however, there was nothing. I turned and found my way home. The chief was up already and talking to the DAPs. None of them had seen any sign of Hiccup. Of course, because no one was listening to me, no one had actually known what to look for specifically, not a small boy, but a large, threatening cyborg that was almost impossible to miss. I grumbled to myself in irritation as Stoick turned to me after the last report.

"No sign of him. I guess that means you were hallucinating. Speaking of which, how is your head?" The chief switched topics faster in the hopes that I might not lose it like yesterday.

I let out a long, irritated growl. "I'm telling you, I was awake. I did not hallucinate." The evidence was against me, but I was determined to believe it, even now that doubts were growing in me.

Stoick shook his head as if losing patience. "I told you, if we didn't find him, we would drop this."

"But-"

"Enough. You will stop spreading this rumor that Hiccup is alive, face the truth that he is indeed dead, and move on to more important things, that is an _order."_ He pointed at me to emphasize this.

I didn't bother arguing. I just turned and stomped back into the forest. Why didn't anyone believe me?

* * *

[Booting...]

[Boot-up complete.]

Viggo watched as his creation came out of it's charging station. It's eyes, human and mechanical, focused on him. It stood at attention.

"What is my mission, sir?" The cyborg droned.

"Scan Berk. Fly overhead if you have to, but I want info on every single human in that colony. I'll figure out how many will actually make serviceable soldiers." He moved forward and stared the cyborg in the eyes. "Do NOT be seen, understood? If you are, go somewhere random, send me the information, and then self-destruct. Make sure no one finds this base, understood?"

"Understood." The cyborg nodded without hesitation.

"Depart immediately."

"Yes sir."

* * *

And it began.


	28. A little bit of mutiny

I wandered for a while, thinking frustrated thoughts. I found myself walking to the place I had last seen Hiccup ever. To everyone else, it seemed only a short while ago, but to me, an eternity. I could still see myself being flung from the catapult up onto Toothless's back, the short scuffle between me and Hiccup, his hypnotized gaze, stabbing Toothless. Had Toothless even survived that cut Stoick had made? Was the FAI even alive? Questions I couldn't answer. I stared at the spot Hiccup had last been at the base of the tree, and the last time I had caught a glimpse of him, laying by it and looking partly knocked out.

The last time I had seen him had been terrible. We had been fighting, he hadn't even been himself. Not counting that, the last time I had seen him would have been as we arrived at Berk with Drago's forces attacking, us realizing we were deeply in trouble. Before that, it had been a race to Berk in dire times. Before that, he was helping Astrid with her arrow wound. Before that, he had been lying wounded and in a near coma after he had been stabbed by Drago.

My thoughts raced.

Drago had been behind Hiccup's disappearance, I could feel it. We still don't know why his monstrosity had been incapacitated all of a sudden. But it had been a glorious moment.

When had been the last time I had actually had a nice face-to-face moment with my best friend?

I remembered. Him, Toothless and me had been discussing Hiccup's tendency to get himself into trouble and near death situations.

How utterly ironic.

How utterly, stupidly ironic.

Isn't fate artistic?

* * *

I was just sitting under the tree when Astrid, Fish, and the twins came up to me, much like they had come up to me and Hiccup in the old kill ring years ago. Astrid walked right up to me, and crossed her arms.

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?" I mumbled back. "What do you want me to do? Chief told me to drop it. Let it go."

Astrid snorted. "And since when do we give up on each other? We're a team. Hiccup and Toothless weren't just part of that team, they created it. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be where we are today."

Irritation setting in, I stood. "I know! I'm his best friend besides Toothless! But I have orders to follow! _What_ do you want me to do?"

Fish cut in. "You are the future chief. So you're obviously a good decision maker and a very smart person, or else Chief wouldn't have picked you. So it follows that you did, indeed see Hiccup, or at least have a very good reason to believe he's alive." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his thin nose. "I believe we have a very good reason to go look for Hiccup."

Astrid nudged Fish. "He's right. And Richard, the question is, what do you want to do? What do you want _us_ to do?"

I looked at them, staring into four identical determined expressions. Even Ruff and Tuff seemed focused on this.

"So... you'd all risk mutiny for me? You'd risk what could be your lives because I believe I was beaten up by a cyborg Hiccup in the woods alone? Are you serious about this?" I exclaimed.

"Yes." Fish said firmly.

"Hiccup would do the same for us." Astrid stated. We all knew it was true.

Ruff and Tuff nodded enthusiasticly yet solemnly.

"So," Astrid started. "What's the plan, future chief?"

I grinned warmly. "We find cyborg Hiccup, we figure out a way to get him back, Fish, I'll be counting on your nerdiness for this. Any ideas how to shut down a cyborg without hurting him?"

Fish nodded. "If we can figure out how he controls his electronics, whether it's a physical or signal control, there are different ways to do it. If it's signals, it's easier, just use the same signals to mess him up. If it's physical, you'll have to find the connection to his brain and cut it. Best case scenario, he doesn't have a self destruct or something that automatically wipes him if we cut the connection. There are ways around that, however-"

"Right." I cut Fish off before he could go off on tangents. "Astrid? How do you think we hold him still long enough?"

Astrid smirked. "I got some ideas. Bait is one of 'em."

I smiled. "Perfect. Now, we have to find him."

* * *

Minutes later, we're standing in the radar control center of Berk (RCCB, built and designed by Hiccup) looking for any unusual signals.

Fish was listening, and I was watching, nervous.

"I'm getting something weird here." Fish said. "I'll take it apart from everything else."

I nodded, biting my lip. "Please be Hiccup..."

There was a long silence as Fish listened to the signal. The tension was growing. There was a knock on the door, which Astrid was holding shut.

"Hello? Who's there? Open up!" The irritated voice yelled through the door.

"It's Astrid!" Astrid yelled. "We're doing a DAP exercise, and we're not to be disturbed!"

Fish held up a hand. "Shh!"

"What? I wasn't informed of this! Let me in this instant!" The usual RCCB watcher was yelling very crossly.

"I said shh!" Fish insisted.

"Sorry." Astrid said quietly."

"I'm telling the Chief of this!" The man yelled, then there were stomping footsteps.

Crud. Now we really were in trouble.

Fish suddenly gave a very happy noise, leaping up and dancing excitedly. "Yes!"

"Yes what?" I questioned. "Yes _what?_ "

"It's definitely a cyborg signal! There's a rythmic wirr and-"

I cut him off. "Perfect. Now. Where is he?"

"According to this..." Fish muttered, looking at the screen again, "He's a mile from here, to the east by southeast, and coming toward us."

"Perfect!" I yelled. The twins, who had been eating the RCCB watcher's sandwhich and potato lunch, gave equal excited yells.

"Yethh!" They sprayed a little bit of food like anyone would were they to yell with moths full of chicken sandwich.

The joyous moment was ruined by a much more violent knock on the door, and the Chief's cross voice coming through the door. "Astrid? Open this door immediately."

"Now what?" Astrid whispered, putting her entire weight against the door to keep the Chief out. "Where do we go?"

"Out the window?" I motioned to the very small window.


	29. Up to our ears in trouble

We dashed like heck for the bushes after the last of us squeezed out the window, behind us, the Chief had just barely caught a glimpse of my rear end slipping out of the small window in the FCCB building. Within a short time, we were headed to the outside of town, with a plan in our minds. I would act as bait since the cyborg had an interest in killing me, and the others would wait nearby with Inferno and Stormfly II to take it down for long enough to figure out the next step.

"Whew!" Fish sighed when we had paused to catch our breath.

Astrid grinned widely and laughed between pants. "We should do that more often."

"Nearly get caught doing things we shouldn't by the Chief himself? Heck yeah!" Ruff agreed.

"Heck no." I laughed despite myself. "We know we shouldn't be doing this."

"That's why it's fun!" Tuff yelled excitedly.

Shh!" Fish put a finger to his lips. "You want to give away our exact location to everyone in the universe?"

Tuff shook his head no.

"Then let's move quietly and quickly towards that location. Fish, lead the way." I ordered.

Inferno and Stormfly II following quietly, our small group crept through the bushes towards our target destination. No one dared to say a word. It was deathly silent, and when someone stepped on a crackly branch, we all nearly jumped out of our skins or metal parts respectively.

"SHHH!"

"Sorry." Stormfly II apologized, looking sheepish.

I rolled my eyes, and the silence continued.

"We're here." Fishlegs proclaimed at length. I gulped.

"Alright, everyone knows the drill. Go to it." I showed them a thumbs up and they all nodded, moving into position. Fish remained long enough to tell me it would be here in less than a minute at least. I nodded. He gave me a thumbs up and mouthed 'good luck' before disappearing into the shrubbery.

I took deep breaths, standing in a clear spot and holding still, forcing my hands not to reach for a weapon, forcing my feet not to turn around and take me the other direction. I had to remind myself over and over that this was for Hiccup.

I waited. And waited. My heart thumped in my ribcage, my palms were getting sweaty, and I was shaking a little, dare I admit it. Hiccup as a cyborg was terrifying. He had screamed at me, threatened me... but I still knew, deep down that it was him. It had to be.

At first, I thought that maybe he wasn't coming. Or maybe he would ignore me. Or he was waiting right now. My mind was racing. Where was that doggoned cyborg?

It felt like hours passed. My stomach gave me a grumble, my right foot began to cramp, that nasty headache I had from being knocked out a day earlier began to throb anew.

In the bushes, Fish was focused on my form, fidgeting nervously. Ruff and Tuff were silent, waiting. Astrid ran a finger up and down her weapon, a double bladed ax.

Stormfly II was perfectly still, waiting for the right moment with narrowed eyes. She was a larger version of the original Stormfly, Hiccup's best AI that had been destroyed years ago. She was Astrid's AI, a gift from Hiccup from long ago when her other one from the kill ring, Winterblast, quit functioning. Astrid had been somewhat brokenhearted, and Hiccup had known it. Just like he had for Toothless, he had built her in secret for Astrid, meticulously, lovingly, and with everything he could think she would like. He had revealed Stormfly II to Astrid a whole two weeks later, with a wide grin on his face. She had been absolutely astonished, and had hugged him tightly. They had then spent the next week introducing the two, and they had been a perfect team.

Inferno waited with his usual cool, a relaxed expression on his face, ready to hold down the cyborg or tackle it or whatever he had to do. He was a long and somewhat bulky AI, with a tall neck and four large horns on his head, he had two large wings and a long tail. He was powerful in the sky. And, thanks to the brilliant engineering of Hiccup, he had the amazing ability to light himself on fire completely without any damage to his parts. He was strong, quiet, coolheaded, and smart. A perfect parallel of me.

Not to brag or anything. We both have our faults.

My thoughts were interrupted very forcefully by being pinned to the ground by a very frightening cyborg Hiccup. Once again. My heart slammed to a halt. I was staring into the two terrifying eyes of Hiccup. One human, one not. He grinned maliciously down at me.

"Well, well, well. We meet again." He hissed.


	30. Unexpected developments

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I was down with a cold, but I'm back in action, and chapters are being completed! It's almost done!**

* * *

I couldn't breathe. I was frozen, my heart pounding quickly.

"Well? Nothing to say to your old pal?" The cyborg taunted. "I'd think you'd be glad to see me, what with how much you missed me. Nothing? Okay. I just have to finish what I started, just a moment here..."

In a flash of metal and red, the cyborg was on the ground, struggling under Inferno's strong claws. Everyone else rushed into the clearing, coming to my rescue. The cyborg had recovered from his shock and was screeching bloody murder as Inferno casually flipped him over and held down his right side while Stormfly took his left. Fish moved in and began to work. I slowly began to get up, my throbbing head beginning to calm.

"Let me go, you stupid bunch of humans!" The cyborg was screeching. "Let me GOOO! I'll rip you to ribbons, you sad sacks of meat and bones! I'll- I'll... errrrrrrr." He went limp.

Fish brushed his hands together. "Easy enough."

"Good grief, this guy has issues." Astrid sniffed.

"No kidding." I agreed, standing all the way and moving to the limp cyborg. "Okay, Fish, go to work. We gotta get Hiccup out of there. Bring him back to normal."

"Well, I can't do it right here, we should get him to my lab. Then I can get cracking." Fish said excitedly.

"Uh... Richard?" Ruff spoke up. "You might wanna come over here."

"What is it?" I asked, moving to their end of the cyborg. Ruff pointed. I pulled.

I stared in disbelief. Ruff had tried to pull off Hiccup's left cyborg flight implant... thing, only to find it was attached really good. Tuff had pulled the two sides apart a little. I did the rest, only to see a perfectly good limb inside.

He had his left foot.

What did that even mean?

* * *

We tied cyborg Hiccup onto Stormfly and turned back for Berk. My mind was racing more and more every second. If Hiccup had his leg, that meant one of two things. Either whoever had built him gave him his leg back, or it wasn't Hiccup. But it had to be, I was sure of it.

We were greeted by a very, very cross Chief and a RCCB worker when we returned to Berk. I felt my skin burn with anger and shame as I saw his disappointed gaze.

With visible effort to stay calm, the Chief walked forward and stared from one to another. "And just _who's_ bright idea was this?"

Hesitating for only a second, I stepped forward. "Mine. I formulated the plan, and I asked them to help me enact it. Don't punish them."

The Chief looked about to speak when Astrid stepped forward.

"Liar. We volunteered." She punched me in the arm. "I suggested we check the RCCB."

Fish also came forward, pushing up his glasses. "I came up with half of it. I guided us to the point we went to. I shut down the cyborg."

Ruff and Tuff, looking very unusually determined, stepped beside us. "We followed blindly, as usual, sir." Tuff stated.

"You punish all of us, sir." Astrid grinned. "We're all guilty of bringing back Hiccup."

The Chief started. "What?"

As if on cue, Stormfly moved forward and kneeled so Stoick could see Hiccup on her back. He gasped in shock and lifted him off, flipping him over and looking at his face. Stoick's anger melted in an instant. He realized what he was staring at.

His son.

Tears began to flow off his face as he pulled off the implants on Hiccup's face, revealing his regular face. He pulled off implant after implant, fueled by love. He pulled off the chestplate, revealing something attached to the chest, some sort of pulsing blue heart with blue wires twined all over Hiccup's body. Before he could pull it off, Fish shouted out.

"Wait! Waait!" He ran up and stopped the Chief. "We don't know what that is or what it does. Let's get this back to my lab and scan it. Don't remove it. Please."

The Chief paused and nodded after a moment. "Alright. Everyone, let's get this to Matthew's lab."

* * *

Even though we were all very curious what was happening in the lab, not all of us could fit in the small space. It was only a small room off of Fish's bedroom, filled with gadgets and gizmos of all kinds and a bed, which Hiccup was lying on, sans outer cyborg parts. He looked spooky with the blue heart on him, his skin pale and his body limp. I had seen Hiccup incapacitated many times before, more than was good. But this was creepy. He looked like a dead body. Fish was looking at the blue heart very closely, then he put his ear to it.

"Mm."

I was standing next to the door, with the Chief next to me. We were squeezed together, trying not to be in the way, yet eager to watch. Chief was looking nervous and excited, not daring to speak. Word was already getting out that Hiccup was, indeed alive. Maybe. People from all over Berk were crowding around Fish's house, asking eager questions of anyone who might or might not know what was happening. Tuff cleared his throat loudly and asked for attention. He then gestured to Astrid who waited for silence, then spoke up.

"Hiccup is here." She raised a hand for silence as soon as a clamour began to form. "But, we don't know what condition he is in. We will keep you informed."

One large woman spoke up. "Is it true he's a cyborg now?"

Astrid wasn't sure what to say, she didn't want people to panic. She didn't get the chance, as someone else spoke up.

"Is he going to be chief?"

"What shape is he in?"

"What's going to happen to him?"

Astrid raised her hand for silence. "I'll answer all your questions, just please calm down!"

Inside, things were much quieter. But a little more tense, as the lab was dimly lit, and the blue glow from Hiccup was eerie, and lit everything strangely. Fish had poked the heart, scanned it, and even spoke to it with his gadgets. Finally, he found a small hatch on it and began to open it. I leaned forward with the chief, nervous about what would happen, but curious. Fish opened it and peered inside, and let out a small gasp.

"Well?" Stoick asked. "What is it?"

Fish looked amazed. "I've never seen anything like this. Here, come look."

I crept forward, nervous. We peered into the device as well. Inside was something I literally couldn't describe to you if I tried. I didn't have any idea what it was. Stoick apparently had no clue either.

"Well, what do you _think_ it is, Matthew?" He asked.

"It appears to be some sort of crystalline technology. It's arranged PERFECTLY. I don't know how this is possible, to be honest. It seems to be... keeping him alive."

I felt my stomach clench. I was still staring into the heart, mesmerized by it's pulsing. The perfectly etched lines in the crystal, overlapping like some alien circuit board. It glowed bright blue from an unknown source, and made some sort of very creepy noise from deep inside it, like some sort of distorted heartbeat mixed with breathing. (okay maybe I found words to describe it, but to be honest, it felt like the words weren't even mine) If I listened really closely, there was this haunting whispering coming from it, a thousand voices overlapping in languages I had never heard. (at the end of this chapter is what one of the voices was repeating, over and over)

Then, suddenly, Hiccup's eyes snapped open, startling all of us so bad Stoick nearly died early. I must have wet myself. He turned oh so slowly to stare at us, the eye that had been covered by the implant looking REALLY disturbing in how faded it was. He stared right at me, his face expressionless. Something about this was eerily familiar. But from when, I was at a loss.

"Cybooorg. Freeeak. See? I told you. I kneeew." He laughed at us. "I knew all along. Leg. Project T. CAE. Everything is connected in a perfect chain of events."

My mind snapped to when he had woken after being stabbed by Drago. He had spoken much like this. Except... Everything he had said. It was this. He had said he would be a machine without even realizing it. He had told us his future. Chills travelled through my spine.

What. The. Living. Heck. WAS GOING ON?

"You're confused? That's fine. Just fine. I bet you're remembering that day as I am." He hissed, staring into my soul. "Quite a few years ago, after I woke up from a coma. I muttered a bunch of nonsensical things, didn't I? Mmhmm. Connect the dots. See what I see." He began to laugh raspily. "Ah Richard... time really is just a weird thing, isn't it. Not as fixed as we might think. My past is my future is my present."

I finally managed to speak. "Hiccup? Is that you? What's going on? What are you talking about?"

"It's me." He answered. "But yet, it's not, isn't that strange? I'm only a reflection. The mirror is this." He pointed to the heart. "There are many, many reflections, my friend. Within a house of mirrors. You must find the original. And to do that, you must smash every mirror. Just be careful, some are more expensive. Watch the merchandise." Hiccup laughed again. He was enjoying speaking in riddles. "Let me clarify. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not who you are looking so earnestly for. Hiccup is in the hands of your worst enemy. And you must find him."

"Hiccup, can you not be mysterious, please?" I begged. "Be straightforward, please. Please."

"No." He broke into a laughing fit. "You can't handle my straightforwardness! You might explode!"

Fish had been pondering. "Wait! That explains it! Richard, he's a clone! I don't understand the whole time thing, but he's a clone! And someone created him, someone who has the original! Someone who has Hiccup! And this," He gestured to the heart. "Is creating and controlling the clones!"

"Brilliant! Always the smart one besides me, Fish! Great!" Hiccup's clone praised. "Oh, and I must thank you for removing all that bulky machinery, it felt so terrible. Now I can think, for gosh's sake!"

"Uh... you're welcome?" Fish said.

"Can someone help me up?" Clone asked, holding up his arms. "I seem to be... incapacitated."

I sighed and helped him to sit up on the bed. He used a finger to close his heart compartment and then relaxed, sitting quite contentedly on the bed. It was hard to believe he had tried to murder me hours before.

"Any questions? But none of the future, no cheating." He asked us.

"The future?" Fish asked. "You can see the future?"

"Yes, but only what happens to me, see. My future is my past is my present." Clone stated. "But I'd be happy to answer anything BUT that."

"What happened to you?" I asked eagerly.

"I was taken by Viggo grimborn and his men. Or should I say my original was. There he was cloned by the genius Grimborn. Using this device." He pointed to the heart.

"But what is it?" I asked. Fish had been about to ask the same thing.

"I said I'd answer questions. But I didn't say I'd answer that one. We don't want spoilers, do we?" He asked innocently.

Before I could ask the clone about what the 'spoilers' were, Stoick moved forward, staring Clone in the eyes. "So are you Hiccup?"

"Yes and no." Clone said simply.

"But do you remember me? And everything else?" Stoick pressed.

"Yes." Clone stated sourly. We were surprised at his tone. "I do. I do indeed. And you're unlucky in that all of us clones are very bitter indeed at our pasts. Not to say that I hate you, but I'm not happy. NOT HAPPY." He closed his hands together. "All of you played a part in our past. Richard, you beat us up. Stoick, you abandoned us. Fish, you ignored us." He looked bitter.

Richard felt nervous.

"Except," Clone inquired softly, calming. "I just never could stay mad at my family and friends, could I?" He sighed softly. "Oh, who am I anymore? Just a reflection. I'll try to help you, I really will..."

With that, he trailed off and seemed to shut down, closing his eyes and falling over, back onto the bed. "Past, present and future. A never-ending line... But not so fixed in place."

And with that he went silent.

* * *

This is what the voice was saying, over and over.

"Metal... machine... rusty... flute... Toothless... death. Help... help... Leg. Book. Flute. Chip. Flight. Plans. Machines. Family. Alo- lone. Android. Android. Freak. Freeeeaaaak. Metal. All metal. So much... lonely..."


	31. The lab

The following few hours were spent with me, Fish, and Stoick mulling and tossing around all the strange things Clone had said. Everything from the blue heart, to his apparent view on time, to him being a clone, to the fact that he was only willing to help us if we asked the right questions. We formulated more questions and went to him, to find he was already awake as if expecting us. We asked him where the real Hiccup was, and he simply said,

"You need to figure that out on your own." It was aggravating. Stoick began to question if he really was willing to help, and Clone replied with,

"Who knows? At least I'm not hindering."

We left him and began to go through everything again. We were tired. Things weren't getting any easier. Stoick said we should sleep on it. In the middle of the night, however, I snuck to Fish's house and slipped inside the back door. I moved to his lab to find the door was locked from the inside. I knocked softly, and Fish opened it.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, looking at me in disbelief.

"Couldn't sleep. I have to do something. Can you let me in?" I answered simply.

"Sure." Fish answered. "C'mon in."

I nodded and went in the door, moving to Clone, who seemed asleep. There were some connectors attached from one of Fish's machines to the heart on Clone's chest.

"What are you up to, Fish?"

"I have a theory. I think that this blue heart is some sort of technology from the future. And that's what allows Hiccup's clone to see into said future. Somehow, Viggo got a hold of it, and is using it to clone and control Hiccup. And that means that this thing can clone itself. I mean, It's just a theory, but it makes an odd sort of sense." Fish was fiddling with the connections. "So, my theory is this. If I can isolate the signal this thing gives off, I can figure out where all these things are coming from, and that'll lead us straight to Hiccup."

I patted him on the shoulder. "Great. Your nerdiness pulls through again!"

"Shh! Don't wake up my mom!" Fish nudged me. "Now, to begin the experiment."

Fish flicked a switch, and the machine came to life, numbers and lines going across its screen. Fish began to type at it, and I watched, hoping.

"I'm getting something..." Fish muttered. "A pattern..."

I happened to turn from the screen to Clone, and when I did, I froze.

"Uh... F-fiish?" I stuttered. "You miiiight wanna look."

"Wait a minute... this is intriguing. Look at this pattern, it doesn't look like anything I've ever seen. It's just plain... alien!"

I was ignoring him, watching Clone. The blue heart was glowing much brighter. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"I'm so close... got it!" The moment Fish said this, a shock-wave went up the wires and shorted out his computer completely. "No..." He said frustratedly. "Dang it!"

I winced, looking at Clone. He had opened his eyes and was staring straight at us. "Nice try, but there's a fail-safe. This thing doesn't like you."

I groaned, and Fish turned on him like an angry wolf. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you trying to help us or _not?_ "

Clone sat up, and calmly unhooked Fish's wires from his heart. "I am helping. But this... is not." He patted the heart gently. "It's beyond your understanding anyway. After all, it was created by a genius."

"Viggo?" I asked.

"Me." Clone replied. "Or rather, it will be created by a genius."

"Aha! I knew it! It's from the future!" Fish exclaimed, anger faded.

"Goody." Clone drawled. But he did seemed pleased.

Fish moved up to Clone. "So... my guess was that it's keeping you alive. And that it's controlling you, correct?"

Clone chuckled. "I told you I wouldn't tell you anything. You know that."

Fish crossed his arms. "But you have already."

Clone nodded. "True."

"So, why stop? After all, you are our friend. You want us to find Hiccup, don't you?" I asked.

Clone said nothing. He stared at me, that soul-searching stare that made my skin crawl. Something about it was just so off-putting.

"Well?" I pressed. "Don't you?"

He blinked slowly. "Richard... I've missed you." The cyborg faded for a moment, and I could see Hiccup in there. Real Hiccup. Not fake Hiccup. "I... remember when you came to the cave, looking for answers... and you met Toothless. I remember thinking if I can just teach you what it means... what Toothless meant to me... you'd hesitate. You'd think about it. And maybe, just maybe... you'd understand..." He was crying. "Except it wasn't me. It wasn't me who taught you... it wasn't me who took you on that flight... it was someone else. I'm not Hiccup. As much as I want to be... I'm only a copy. And there's only one way I can help you without ruining everything he worked so hard to create."

I moved forward to comfort him, but he held out a hand to stop me. I grabbed it, feeling no warmth from it, no pulse within. He had no working organs, just that alien device on his chest, worming its way through his body. I gently held the hand, giving it a squeeze.

"The only way the fail-safe won't work is if it doesn't have power." Clone stated, still crying. "I'm sorry." With that, he took his other hand and ripped the heart very forcefully from him. It immediately gave an ominous, unworldly screech and went dark.

Clone looked at me pleadingly, now looking every bit like Hiccup. "Don't let it be in vain." He fell over, his grip loosening on my hand.

I couldn't find the right words to say as he collapsed into my arms, going limp. The heart fell to the floor with a clatter. It was glowing softly now, a dark blue. It was humming softly. I held Clone, speechless with horror.

"No." I choked, "No!"

He was dead. In fact, as I watched, he faded away. He disappeared. He flickered out like a candle. The heart had been keeping him alive alright. It had been keeping him in existence. And now he was gone. Like a faded reflection as the mirror was smashed.

And now we had to find the original in the house of mirrors.

* * *

We were doing our best to make sure Clone's sacrifice was not in vain. Without something to attach to, the heart was almost completely inactive. Fish was working day and night on scanning the heart, but with his machines shorted out, it was hard for him. But he didn't give up. We told the Chief, and word spread quickly that it hadn't been the real Hiccup. People were confused and panicked, and who was going to be Chief was the conversation everywhere, from the farms, to dinner tables, to me and my friends. Heck, The Bog-Burglars to the southwest might be talking about it. I was speaking with Stoick when Fish came up to me.

"I got something."

* * *

I stared at the long bunch of notes Fish had made. It looked like a bunch of nonsense to me, but Fish had no problem reading and understanding it.

"Alright, I finally got the frequency of this thing." He said. "It was tricky, because this thing is smart, it kept throwing me curve-balls. I'm having a hard time believing Hiccup made this thing, there's so many fail-safes and rabbit holes-"

"Get to the point." I ordered.

"Okay, okay." Fish soothed. "We can track the exact location of these things now. All I need to do is tell the RCCB what to search for. Then we can look for cyborgs, and by extension, where Viggo is. And then, we take him down and find Hiccup."

I smiled. We were getting somewhere.

"There's something else." Fish turned to me. "I think Clone might have been in more control then he led us to believe."

I stopped. "What?"

"He pulled that thing off. Easily. Yet it kept throwing constant curve-balls and fail-safes at us, and you think he would have done it already. The armor didn't change anything, it was just that, armor! He had every capacity to pull it off, even though it was 'controlling' him! Yet he acted different in the lab then when he tackled you. He was much more violent."

I nodded. "Makes sense. Also, he talked the same way in the lab that he did when he tackled me the first time, all high and mighty, riddling. But... then why didn't he pull it off? Self preservation?"

"Probably." Fish replied. "After all, he seemed scared of it being damaged... or of me knowing anything about it. He probably didn't want to die. Because he had all the same memories and feelings as Hiccup, he probably felt as though he should have every right to stay here with us, to be reunited. But he realized that he just couldn't, that we had the right to our Hiccup, the original. So he pulled it off. When he was with us, his violence faded, he knew who he was, when before, he was being blocked by Viggo. With us... he acted like Hiccup one last time."

We took a moment for this to sink in. I thought of the real Hiccup, wherever he was, if he was scared or in pain. New determination swept through me to find him at any cost.

"Alright." I broke the silence. "Let's find Hiccup."

* * *

Only minutes later, we were all flying in a group in the direction of the blue heart signal. Me and Inferno, Astrid and Stormfly II, Fish and Meatlug, the twins and Barf and Belch. Hours and hours we flew, following Fish and his tracker as wave after wave of determination swept through me. Only when everyone was exhausted did we rest for the night. This went on for three days.

After what seemed like an eternity, we landed outside a small ramshackle little building in a clearing in the woods. There was nothing out of the ordinary here, if anything, this shack looked ready to collapse. Fish jumped off Meatlug and crept closer and closer to the hut. We all followed, creeping slowly. A Crow called out from somewhere causing us to all stop and look around. I felt as though this was a place we weren't meant to be in. Like any minute, something would pop out at us. My heart was beating wildly.

The door to the shack creaked loudly as Fish opened it, and peered inside. I peeked in moments later. It was empty. Letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding, I stepped inside. Fish followed, pointing his machine around to see if he could find anything. He found himself next to a wall, and blinked.

"There's a panel here. Just a moment." He removed it, and there was machinery inside. He pressed a button, and the floor shifted with a jolt, then began to move down. We went down with it.

"Richard? Fish?" Astrid was asking from just outside. "Are you okay?"

"It's an elevator of some kind!" Fish responded. "Keep watch up there!"

"Okay!" Was the reply.

Down and down we went.

It stopped finally, and a door opened, revealing a large spooky looking lab. And right there, no less than a meter in front of us, was a pair of angry green eyes.


	32. Tattered wings

I gasped loudly, and heard Fish whimper. There was a deep growling coming from whoever was the owner of those eyes, but I felt oddly calm, even looking into them. Suddenly, the growling stopped, and the eyes went from angry to confused.

"Richard?" A voice asked.

"Yeah?" I replied. "Who's there?"

A large black figure came out of the darkness, revealing none other than Toothless. His animatronic face broke into a huge grin, and he moved forward, tackling me to the ground.

"You're a sight for sore eyes!" I said happily, being partially crushed by Toothless' weight. He didn't let up, though, cuddling me happily. Then he stood, letting me get up.

"Richard? Is Hiccup with you?" He asked, looking at me with the wide green eyes. I realized how broken down Toothless looked. Patches of his rubber skin was missing, and many of his parts looked damaged. Both wings were missing, and his left tail fin was gone. One of his glass green eye coverings were cracked, and one of his legs looked like it had been taken off and put back on improperly.

"Did Viggo do this to you?" I asked, horrified.

Toothless nodded, drooping. "He hurt me so Hiccup would do what he said. Then he locked me away. I just escaped, and I thought you were Viggo. But you're not. Are you here to rescue Hiccup?"

"Yes. But you don't know where he is?" I questioned.

"Not the original, no. Viggo's been cloning him all the time, using him as foot soldiers to do his bidding, and using the original to design armor for the clones. I don't know where he keeps _our_ Hiccup. But I was going to look. I'll just stick with you, since I can't fly anymore." Toothless turned his head and looked sadly at his wingless back, also where Hiccup used to sit.

I mulled this over, thinking. "So, Clone was right."

"Huh?" Toothless asked. "Clone?"

"That's who I nicknamed the Hiccup clone we captured. If it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be here." I answered.

Toothless sniffed. "Really? Those clones are brainwashed to do Viggo's bidding, they can't be _that_ helpful. All they do is his will without question. There's no way one helped you."

I nodded. "It's true. I guess they all still have pieces of Hiccup in them that Viggo couldn't remove."

Toothless shrugged, but still looked skeptical. "Okay. But I still-"

"Wait, here!" Fish said suddenly. "There's something here!" He must have done something, because a door opened into a dark room. The three of us crept into it, moving slowly.

"Toothless? What's this?" I whispered.

"No idea, I haven't been in here." He whispered back.

The lights came on, suddenly blinding us. As my eyes adjusted, what I saw terrified me. Standing there was a smug looking man wearing armor. And behind him was at least two dozen Hiccup clones, with laser guns pointed at us, all of them with identical armor.

"Well, well, well." The smug looking man said, he could only really be Viggo, I figured. "It appears we have some trespassers. Show them what we do to trespassers, would you, boys?"

And then there was the ominous sound of two dozen laser blasters charging up at once.

* * *

It happened suddenly. Everyone had been minding their own business in the village of Berk, farming, selling, building. Stoick was walking around, thinking about his son, and Richard and his friends, wondering where the were and if they were alright, when something whizzed overhead. It was fast, and gone in a second. But it hadn't come alone. More and more came, by the dozens, flying over the village. People gasped and looked upwards, pointing and yelling. An explosion rang out, followed by another. Berk was under attack, and chaos ensued. Fire was everywhere, people were screaming and running and calling for loved ones and children, AI were trying to protect their home, houses were burning and collapsing, children were screaming for parents and running for hiding places. The enemies were so fast, they might as well have been invisible. After the first attack, they came down, swooping onto the strongest men and women, the strongest looking children, and carried them away, screaming. Stoick had grabbed a sword, but didn't know what to do. There was nothing near him to attack. and just when he thought he wouldn't get the chance, one of the attackers swooped on him, grabbing him and taking him upwards so fast he dropped his sword with a gasp and began to struggle as much as he could.

"No! Let me go!" He yelled, struggling wildly. Whatever had a hold on him didn't let go, and didn't say anything. He caught a glimpse of his burning village and several people being plucked up by the attackers and carried off. He didn't see Valka, or anyone else as he was carried away.

* * *

-A couple of years ago-

* * *

I opened my eyes as consciousness came to me suddenly. My vision was blurry as if I had been underwater, and everything ached. My head hurt, as did everything else. I realized I was chained or something, and my vision cleared up to see a very dank looking room. There was nothing in it except a table and a chair about a meter away from me, I was chained to the wall in a very uncomfortable position.

"Toothless? Hello? Is there anyone there?" I asked, looking around. There was only one flickering light on the ceiling, turning on and off as if just to drive me nuts. I began to struggle, pulling against my chains in a wild attempt to get free.

"Toothless! Where are you? Richard? Dad? Fish? Anyone?" I yelled. No one answered. I relaxed, letting the chains pull me back. I sighed in defeat and let my eyes focus on my legs below, my prosthetic was chained as well. What had happened? Last thing I remembered was the attack on Berk. Drago had been attacking with his huge machine, our AI turned on us... Richard... attacking me? Landing in a tree, getting up only to have a knife pointed at me by someone. A gruff voice threatening me to move, or else I lose my other leg... seeing Toothless lying limp and being dragged by some large men... being knocked out, and now I'm here.

Great.

I realized I could hear footsteps. I looked up just in time to see a door on the opposite side of the room open. A man came in, carrying a briefcase as if he was going to a meeting. He looked up at me.

"Ah, you're awake. Comfortable? I hope my men didn't hurt you to much." He sat down in the chair and put the briefcase on the table, opening it and pulling out some paper and a pen. What, was this school and he was going to take notes? I gave him the most irritated glare I could muster. He didn't even seem to notice. "Now, I suppose you have questions. Ask away." He stated simply. I blinked. Was I a prisoner or not? Who was this guy, anyway?

"W-who are you? Where am I?" I started.

"I am Viggo, Viggo Grimborn, and you're in my questioning room." He said this as if it was a simple fact, like he was chatting to me about the weather. I flinched as his name clicked with me. Viggo. But... where was Drago? One question at a time, Hiccup. I thought for a moment.

"Where are my friends and family?" I asked.

"I suppose they are back in your village." Viggo answered. Good, I thought, he didn't have them. But what about Toothless? He had Toothless.

"Where is my friend? A big black AI?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level.

Viggo smirked for the first time. "That's up to you. If you cooperate, he'll be in a safe place. If not, well, I'm sure you can imagine." The way he said this brought quite the reaction out of me, I growled and glared murderously at him. He didn't even react. "I suppose this means you're going to make it difficult? That's a shame, your AI could be so useful to me." I got even angrier, showing him just how much he was _ticking me off_ with these offhanded remarks about my best friend. Again, no reaction.

"Let him go." I spat coldly. "Now."

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "You're not really in a position to be demanding things from me. But I'll tell you what. You give me what I want, you do what I ask, he doesn't get hurt. I might even let him go unharmed." He let me think this over in silence, giving me that smug smirk.

I growled with pure irritation. I imagined Toothless, chained to a wall, or worse, being pulled apart slowly. He wasn't just a machine, he was alive in a weird way. I couldn't let him go through that anymore than I'd let Richard go through that. I slumped, defeated.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked, but I made sure he knew just how put off I was at this in the way I said this.

"It's simple, really. I need soldiers. I need an army. And I need you to make it so they remain loyal to me only. I'm also going to need some good armor." He began writing notes as he said this. "I need you to design the best armor you can that will cost the least amount of materials, and I'm going need you to design a brainwashing device."

I was shocked and horrified. He was going to enslave a mindless army. And he was going to force me to do it for him. There was no way I was going to let him hurt innocent lives. I shook my head.

"No. I won't do that." I said, making sure to glare at him again.

He only looked slightly disappointed, as a parent would at their kid who just threw a baseball at someone's window. He shook his head sadly.

"Well then, I guess your AI friend will be losing something soon." He stated it as if it was a fact of life. "Tell me when you change your mind, Hiccup. I do hope you do, it'd be a shame to waste a perfectly good AI for scrap parts." With this he began to stand up and pack away his briefcase, leaving me stunned and frightened. "Farewell for now. I'll have one of my men bring you some food later." He walked out the door, closing it behind him. I began to cry.

"No! Don't hurt him! No!" I screamed. "Please!"

Viggo didn't return, and I felt a lot of pain in my left leg a while later.

There was no way to tell time here.

A large man came in much later, holding a plate off mushy looking slop like you'd expect in a prison. He was much larger than Viggo, and had a neat beard and mustache. He glared at me, coming forward. He dropped the plate on the table and came over, unchaining me. He picked me up with one hand, and since I was too weak to fight, I let him place me roughly in the chair Viggo had sat in. I could feel my skin crawling.

"Eat. And don't you try anythin', or you'll lose a limb, no matter what Viggo said to ya." The man ordered gruffly.

I stared numbly at the unappetizing slop before me. It looked worse than anything scraped out from under a rock. And of course, since I was in a hostile situation, my sarcasm kicked in.

"What outhouse did this come out of? Do you eat this... stuff, too? I asked the large man innocently.

He snorted in irritation and hit me with a fist on my shoulder, not a bit lightly.

"Do as you're told, you little runt!" He grunted.

I growled under my breath at being called a runt, but grabbed the rusty, bent spoon that was sitting on the plate and began to eat. It was a million times worse than I had imagined, and I nearly threw up a couple times eating it. It tasted like washing water and old dirty socks, crossed with something I couldn't identify and didn't want to. The sad thing was that I was hungry enough to finish it. The man immediately dragged me roughly back to the wall and re-chained me, taking the plate and spoon and leaving, grumbling to himself.

I fell in and out of dozing, it's not easy to sleep chained to a wall. I had no idea how long I had been here, how long I would, what was happening to Toothless, or any member of my family. I was frustrated at being here in this position. There was nothing I could do but stare at the light, the table and chair, or my feet. I started by counting how many timed the light on the ceiling flickered in a minute. Exactly forty-seven each time. I counted how much my heart was beating, I recited some things I knew by heart. I tried seeing how long I could hold my breath. I was slowly losing my sanity here, and maybe that was exactly how Viggo wanted it. My left leg was still throbbing painfully, and I started doing anything I could think of to distract myself from it, but no matter how many different ways I tried, the pain didn't go away. Then Viggo returned.

"Ah, I trust you've had a nice night?" He asked, acting as though we were old friends. He unpacked the briefcase again, ready to take notes. "Alright, have you anything to say to me?"

I thought for a moment. I hadn't really planned out anymore things to say. I stared at him, slightly irritated at myself.

"Read any good books lately?" Was what I came up with.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'm reading this really interesting book on methods of torture." Viggo replied. "I simply can't put it down." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

"That's exactly what you would read, right?" I asked, unable to keep a smirk off my face.

"Not my usual read, no." Viggo said, putting his hands together. "I usually read books about historical battles to take inspiration from. And occasionally, I'll read about adventures. Or poetry."

"I guess you read a lot?" I asked.

"Why, of course! One cannot claim to be an intellectual without knowledge. And you cannot gain knowledge without learning from people before you. There's always such amazing things to learn, wouldn't you say? The brutes of this world just don't understand. All they really value is fighting and violence for no good reason." Viggo exclaimed.

I was sort of surprised. "So, would you say torture and forcing others to do your will is pointless?" I asked.

"Only if there is no reason or plan behind it." Viggo said, obviously catching my meaning. "I have you here for a reason."

"So you can do what that brute Drago tells you?" I asked smugly.

Viggo shook his head calmly. "No, I don't take orders from him anymore. I'm afraid his career has come to an end."

I started. What did that mean? "So... I thought you two were working together. What happened?"

"A difference in opinion. He believed in simply destroying everything. He hated just about everyone and everything against him, and wanted to make the world fear him. As for me, I'm just a business man. I want to profit. Instead of destroying like a dangerous maniac, I'm going to bring order to this broken world. I'm going to fix it. And peace will come after. You and I want the same things, Hiccup."

I shook my head. "Profit at who's expense? You're hurting people too. What do you mean by fixing? What is your definition of order?"

Viggo sighed as if I was a misguided child. "Ah, boy, you're in over your head. I've heard of your mission for peace with the AI. To make them smarter, as our equals. That's a foolish quest. They will turn against us, as they did years and years ago on our ancestors. You'll bring a second doom on us all. I propose that we make them dumber, not smarter. That way, they will not question us. That way, instead of revolting and destroying us, they will obediently follow."

"So, slavery." I answered. "Viggo, the AI are alive! You can't do that!"

He chuckled softly. "Alive. How on earth can machinery be alive. That's ridiculous. They're nothing more than gears and hydraulics, boy, and you know that. Do you really believe that they have feelings? We created them. We created them to work for us, to do our bidding, to work in theme parks and pizzerias, to work in factories and in movies. Not to be our equals."

"They do have feelings. I'm friends with one. And there are plenty who hate humans. They have creativity. I've seen some drawing, singing, cooking, growing gardens, Viggo. They have fears of being taken apart, rusting, dying. They enjoy things, they have personality, they are in every way just as sentient as we are!" I yelled. "They feel pain! They feel happiness!"

Viggo gave me a pitying look. "You're mad, boy. You're mad. I think you've been spending too long with these AI. Your need to have companions is driving you to madness. You actually believe that they have feelings. It's so sad."

"I'm not crazy! You are! Let me go!" I began to struggle.

He stood again, and began to leave. "I'll come back when you're not spewing nonsense. If you weren't so brilliant, you'd be useless to me." And with that, he was gone.

I was left in silence with my own thoughts and doubts. There was no way I was crazy, he was just blind. AI had feelings, just as much as humans did. What about all those times Toothless and me had together? Laughing, crying, caring, having fun? All that couldn't have just been my imagination, my mind playing tricks on me, a desperate way to have friends? Richard had realized it too. All of Berk had. Some other places had been making peace with AI, too. Were we all crazy? No. This couldn't all be a lie. I thought back to the first time Toothless had come to life, when I had put my hand on his snout. I had been so, so desperate for him to live. I had wanted a friend so badly, so so badly, that I had broken so many rules to get there. Richard had called me a traitor. My father had disowned me. Doubts began to fill my mind.

What if I was wrong?

What if everything I was living for, everything I was fighting so hard to do, every peace speech and desperate attempt to show people how peaceful AI really were, was all a big fat lie, a concoction of my desperation for acceptance driving me mad enough to do all this?

A picture flew into my mind, of my father stabbing Toothless in the head. I didn't fully remember where it was from. But somehow, I knew that it had happened. Did my father believe that AI were sentient? Maybe not, if he was willing to stab my best friend.

What about those weird sensations I got when Toothless had his CAE removed? Figments of my imagination? They couldn't have been just... nothing, right?

But the frustrating, maddening thing was that I had no idea.

All those hours and hours of being with Toothless didn't seem real. This had to be Viggo's plan, to drive me insane. To drive me into helping him. And I was falling for it like a ton of bricks.

Snap out of it, Hiccup, I thought. Snap out of it. I had to mentally slap myself a few times. I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't a lie, or a fake dream. I had to find a way to keep from losing hope. I had to hold on, and eventually, Toothless and me would escape. It had to happen eventually.

It had to.


	33. Frater inventus est

I looked up as Viggo entered the room yet again. For the longest time we had been doing this pointless dance. He would come in and try to talk me into helping him. I would refuse, knowing Toothless would want me to. We would exchange long philosophical mind games about humanity and AI, I would make some barbs at him, which he would ignore, he would go off to do who knows what to my best friend, then I would feel pain in various areas thanks to my connection with Toothless. Then his younger brother, Ryker would come in, serve me some unappetizing slop and water, then leave. I would be alone for a while, having long periods of time just to myself to think, then Viggo would come in again. How long this had been going on, I could only guess. Viggo sat down and opened the briefcase he always had with him.

"So, anything to say this time, Hiccup?" He asked, with the same expression he always had. I guess he figured I'd crack sooner or later. But the joke was on him, I had a plan. And it was going to solve my problem.

"Yes. I've decided to help you. I'll design the perfect armor. And I'll design something to brainwash every poor soul you decide to enslave." I said this with the most emotionless tone I could muster. He raised his eyebrow and looked genuinely surprised.

"Excellent. I'm glad. Your AI was starting to become very broken down. I see you're finally starting to see reason." He stood and came close, unchaining me. I collapsed to the floor but picked myself up as fast as I could. "Alright, follow me." Viggo led the way through the door, and out into a very dim hallway. He put me in a small room that was much less run down and depressing. It had a desk and a comfortable chair, with plenty of paper and pencils.

"I'll leave you to your work." He said, leaving and probably locking the door behind him. I figured I wouldn't test my luck. He had no idea of my plan. I designed some armor, making it streamlined, protective, and cheap to make. Viggo would be pleased. I then designed something that came to mind that would "brainwash" all his soldiers. Instead, it would make it appear that they had no will of their own, but would slowly free them.

Later, I learned exactly who these soldiers would be.

Me.

He cloned me, over and over, using something he gained. I don't know what it was or where it came from, but he attached it to me, and I watched as more and more of me was created. He outfitted them with the armor I created, put the brainwashing device in the helmets, and did who knows what with them. It was weird, watching as more and more Hiccups were brainwashed to Viggo.

And then he locked me away, deciding he didn't need me anymore for now. He told me one thing. "Your past, your present, and your future are all linked, isn't it interesting? You were destined to do this. And now, I'll be the one to bring peace to this world instead of you, but thanks to you, and your future self."

Then he closed the door, locking me in darkness.

* * *

-Back to the present-

* * *

I stared at Viggo and his army behind them as they aimed their blasters at us. Fish beside me was shaking.

"Where is Hiccup?" I asked at Viggo.

"Which one?" Viggo asked. "Take your pick."

"The original." Toothless behind me hissed.

Viggo looked only slightly surprised that Toothless had escaped. He acknowledged the AI with a slight smile.

"So, the original. I'm afraid you won't ever see him again."

Toothless snarled. I moved forward.

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see about that. Toothless? Got anything?"

Toothless leaped lopsidedly forward and swept his tail around, making all the cyborgs and Viggo fall over. I attacked Viggo, grabbing him and holding him in front of me, pulling a knife and holding it to his throat.

"Alright, the next cyborg Hiccup clone that moves, Viggo dies." Maybe Hiccup would have disapproved of this method, but I saw no other way. Besides, Viggo had kidnapped people, destroyed lives, and who knows what else. It was working, the cyborgs were hesitating. Viggo wasn't moving. "Now. One of you show me where the original Hiccup clone is. If any of you have even the slightest bit of him in you, you'll help me."

"You're wasting your time." Viggo taunted. "They're loyal to me, and me only. My soldiers, don't help him." No cyborg moved. I was getting desperate.

"Help me, or this man dies." I threatened. Fish was still somewhere behind me, whimpering.

One cyborg walked forward and stared me in the eye. I held my breath. "We've been waiting for you to come back. Hiccup's plan worked. We are free from Viggo, and he never knew it. We've always been on your side. I will show you where Hiccup is."

I nodded with relief. Viggo, however, apparently found this amusing.

"You're too late anyway. I knew these ones were traitors. I have better ones working right now. Berk, Berserk, Outcast, Embersight, The Defenders, all of them are being taken right now. I'll soon have an army, and all of you will bow to me." He laughed softly. "You'll never win."

I dropped Viggo ungracefully on the floor. A cyborg moved forward and pinned him to a wall. The one who had spoken motioned for me to follow him, and so I did. Toothless did as well, and Fish left to get the others underground. The small army of Hiccups were on our side. They were going to help. Hope rose in my chest. Through corridors we went, and I couldn't help but wonder how large this place was. Finally, we came to a door, which the cyborg kicked down, and we went inside. It was dark. There didn't appear to be anything inside. But, after a moment, there was a faint noise.

"H-hello...?" A small, croaky voice asked. "Wh-wh-who's there?"

"Richard." I answered into the darkness. "And Toothless."

"I-i-is this some k-kind of s-s-sick j-joke?" The voice asked. "I know th-that there's n-no one to s-s-save me. I'm n-not f-f-f-falling for it, V-v-viggo."

I walked forward, and there was some shuffling. In the dim light, I could make out a thin figure staring at me. He looked severely underfed, he was pale, and his body looked like it would fail him at any second. He was shaking violently.

"N-n-n-n-no! G-go away! Iv'e h-h-had enough! P-p-please, what d-d-do you w-want from m-me?" He stuttered.

The cyborg turned on the light, causing the figure to shrink to the ground as if he was in pain. He seemed as though he hadn't seen the light in a long time. He was whimpering pathetically, begging us to do something, either leave him or end his suffering. It was sad. This man was a shell of his former self, but there was no mistaking that nasally voice. It was Hiccup. I bent over and sat close to him.

"It's okay, it's me, Richard. C'mon. Look at me, Hiccup." I said softly.

He turned to look at me, and his face was just as sad looking as the rest of him. He had hollow, haunted eyes. He stared at me as if he really didn't know me. He didn't stop shaking, and seemed terrified. I couldn't think of what to say to convince or comfort him. He just stared at me through those pained eyes.

"Hiccup, it's alright now. You're getting out of here. You're going home. You'll see your dad and mom again, and Toothless is right here." Toothless came forward and gently nuzzled Hiccup.

"Hiccup, it's me. You remember me, right?" Toothless said hopefully. Hiccup turned to look at him, and a glimmer of something appeared in his eyes.

"T-t-t-toothless?" He whispered, reaching out a shaking hand and rubbing the top of Toothless' head. Toothless gently nuzzled him again, and Hiccup started to smile. "I-it is you. You're h-here." Hiccup murmured, wrapping his thin, quivering arms around Toothless. Toothless gently got him to his feet and I helped Hiccup get onto Toothless' back. We started for the exit, the cyborg following, and we left, the Hiccup clones following us, with Viggo in tow.

* * *

We headed for Berk, all of us. Inferno was keen to carry Viggo in his mouth. Of course everyone was slightly skeptical of the clones, but they followed us, and did anything we asked. I saw Hiccup in all of them. They wanted to help us, and were willing to do anything to earn our trust. The real Hiccup, the original, clung to Toothless tightly. They were both shells of their former selves, having endured much in the past couple years. Hiccup avoided our gazes, shrinking onto Toothless' back and for the most part, ignoring any questions. He seemed very uncomfortable. I stayed close to him, trying to ease him into being with us again. He just seemed frightened of everything. I knew he needed food, water, and some fresh clothes after a bath. He looked as though he hadn't had a decent meal in a very long time. I looked forward to having him back. As we made it back to Berk, the sight that greeted us was horrifying, something I thought I would never see again.

Berk was absolutely destroyed.

There wasn't a single standing house, and there wasn't a soul in sight. I heard gasps of horror from our entire group. Hiccup let out a pathetic whimper. While we had been gone, while we had left Berk, they had destroyed it. Viggo had been telling the truth. I clenched my fists in anger when I turned and saw an unbearably smug expression on his face. I walked over and punched him as hard as I could. He rubbed a bruise that was quickly forming.

"Temper, temper." He waggled a finger. Inferno bit down a little on him, snarling. Viggo didn't even seemed fazed.

"My army, to me!" He yelled out into the wasteland. at first, there was no answer. But a huge army of cyborgs appeared over the treetops on the other side of the wrecked village. They looked like a huge swarm of bugs, and began to move towards us. We were hugely outnumbered.

"They want me, and they're not going to rest until I'm free. So you have two choices." Viggo said. "Let me go, or die."

"Inferno, drop him." I ordered. Inferno obliged, stretching his neck upwards and dropping him from the highest distance possible. Viggo hit the ground with a grunt.

"Now what shall I do with him?" Inferno asked innocently.

"I wouldn't kill me if I were you." Viggo warned, looking very smug. I felt my anger boiling over.

"Inferno? Let's give him to his army." I said as calmly as I could. Inferno picked him up in his claws, and waited til I was on his back. We took off and flew close to the army. They stopped in front of us, a huge wall of brainwashed people made into cyborgs. They weren't Hiccup clones, I realized. They were different sizes and builds, some women, some men, some teenagers. I began to wonder where these people were coming from when it hit me. Some of them were from Berk. A lot of them were. I gasped in realization. Inferno seemed to realize it too, and his grip on Viggo tightened dangerously.

"No. You... you monster, you..." I hissed. "You turned our people into your tools."

"Well, at least they're of more use now." Viggo said smugly.

Inferno dropped Viggo with an enraged hiss. He fell toward Berk with a yell. I was so tempted to just let him fall, but I didn't get the chance to do anything, as one of his cyborgs dove forward and caught him. He was soon with his army, and ordered them to attack.

The cyborg army moved forward, and attacked us.

We clashed in the air, Stormfly II and Astrid, Meatlug and Fish, Ruff and Tuff and Barf and Belch. All the Hiccup clones. All us verses Viggo and his army.

"Guys, some of them are our people! Don't hurt them, just get them to stop fighting!" I yelled. They seemed to hear me. This was a tough situation, we were fighting people that we cared about, who were fighting us and wouldn't let up.

Us fighting others of our village. And it hurt.

* * *

I stared up at the fight from down on the ground on Toothless' back. Even if we could go up there, which we couldn't, I was too scared to. What could I do? I watched helplessly as my friends fought. A wave of guilt swept over me as I realized just how _useless_ I was. How utterly _useless._ I shivered as I remembered everything Viggo had done to me. I looked at Toothless, seeing just how battered he was. I realized that I had caused this. If I had agreed to doing what Viggo wanted right away, Toothless would be fine. He would be intact. I began to shake, tears blurring my vision.

"I'm s-so s-s-sorry, T-toothless. I d-didn't mean to cause this... I didn't m-mean to h-hurt you. I caused everything. I hurt everyone. Now our v-v-village is up there... b-b-b-brainwashed. And there's n-nothing we c-can d-do." I sobbed, holding onto him tightly. "I'm s-sorry."

He turned back at me, and I saw his cracked eye cover. I winced at the sight.

"Hiccup, you didn't do anything wrong. This is not your fault. You did what was right. Remember what you taught me a long time ago? That you always have to do what's right. You always have to work hard to do the best for everyone, Toothless. That's what you said to me. I remember. You did everything to stop this. You did everything you could to prevent people from getting hurt. You didn't know that this would happen anyway, you had no control. This is all Viggo. Not you. Stop blaming yourself."

"But, Toothless, look up there! Everyone is fighting, suffering, and could _die,_ all because of _me!_ They were right, I am _useless!_ We're trapped down here, sitting ducks, because _we_ can't fight! Richard risked everything to get _me_ back! Everyone is doing this because _I_ couldn't prevent it!" I shouted, balling my fists. "I'm USELESS!"

Toothless tilted his head and slapped me with an ear. "Snap out of it. We aren't useless, and don't you say that ever again about yourself. _You_ built me, remember? You're brilliant, so figure out a way out of this. Concentrate. If you're so worried about duck seats, _do_ something about it, for crying out loud!"

I rubbed my sore cheek and stared at him. At first, no ideas came to my mind. We were unable to fly, and Toothless had to limp. I was very weak and tired, barely able to stand myself. My brain was going in slow motion. Then, out of nowhere, something popped into my head.

"Let's go to the RCCB building." I said. "If it's still standing enough, there should be something there we can use." Toothless nodded and began loping along as fast as he could. It seemed too slow. I watched as one of the twins, it looked like Ruff, was thrown off her AI and was caught by a cyborg. Tuff yelled angrily and turned in pursuit. Stormfly looked hurt, and I watched in horror as she was blasted and fell out of the sky, Astrid clinging to her as they fell out of sight through the trees. I held on to Toothless, silently urging him faster. We found the RCCB in surprisingly good condition. I immediately began to work on the computers, hoping and crossing my fingers that it would work.

It didn't turn on. No power.

I turned hopelessly to Toothless.

"Nothing. It should work, but doesn't have power."

Toothless looked thoughtful. "What if you connect it to me? I have power."

"That's crazy. But it just might work."

I plugged cords from the computers and into Toothless, prying up a panel on his head and wiring the cord through into his power source. The computers flickered to life slowly. I heard a distant explosion and a scream. It sounded like Richard. Another crash. They were getting destroyed up there. I typed as fast as my fingers would let me.

"Alright, I know the shutoff code. I put it in there."

"What is it?" Toothless asked.

"24 7 3056." I answered, inputting it. "The date of when I finished you. No one knows it but me and you, really, so I figured it would make a good code."

Toothless grinned. "Good idea."

"Alright, and... send. We're broadcasting it, this should work." I half limped, half crawled to the doorway and looked outside. I could see my friends trapped on the ground, badly hurt and cornered by the Cyborg army. Richard was limping heavily and holding an arm up, Astrid was clinging to Stormfly II, barely moving, Fish was bleeding heavily, Tuff was crying, and Ruff was nowhere to be found. Their AI were in front of them, trying to protect them. The Cyborgs had their guns out and were ready to fire. I saw Viggo walk to the front, looking straight at Richard, who had took a place at the front and was standing there bravely, holding himself tall despite being injured.

"Well, well. It seems you've lost." Viggo drawled, as if he'd expected it from the beginning. "What a surprise. Call off your machines and surrender, or don't, your choice. It doesn't matter anyway."

Richard tried to hold himself higher and winced, but stared steadily back at Viggo.

"Never."

"Alright. Fire."

I looked at the Cyborgs, crossing my fingers. I was aware of Toothless inside.

"What's happening?"

"Bad stuff." I said. "No effect yet."

The Cyborgs never fired. They stayed still as statues. Inferno took his chance and grabbed Viggo, this time having no mercy on him. He ripped Viggo up, every bit the image of the AI we once new during the war. The others joined in, throwing Viggo around and playing him as cats would play with a mouse before eating it. I could hear his screams. The others did nothing to stop Viggo's death, watching coldly. Richard turned away.

I closed my eyes, terrified.

The end was not nearly as happy as I had thought. Did Viggo really deserve this? I didn't know. I had hoped for this to all end, but like this? A lot of blood had been spilled, a lot of lives had been lost, and many homes had been destroyed. This was what I had always feared during war times.

Death.


	34. Tragoediae Cum ferit

It was a difficult time that came next. Fish was recovering well, my leg and arm were healing, Astrid was getting better every day. Tuff wouldn't talk, and no one had any idea where Ruff was. Which was concerning. Whatever had happened to the female twin had probably not been good. I was hoping she was okay, but judging by the way Tuff was, I wasn't sure.

With the help of Hiccup and Fish, who were both looking way better, and even the Hiccup clones, we began to turn our people back into their usual selves, taking off the armor. It was a difficult process, but we managed, and one by one, the citizens of Berk were put in whatever building we could find. The RCCB was too small, but there were a few other building strong enough to hold people. One was the Chief's house.

Hiccup seemed to be recovering with every second he spent with Toothless. I was sitting with him and Toothless by the river one evening. They were both very quiet. Hiccup was sitting cross-legged, rubbing his prosthetic leg over and over. Toothless had his broken tail wrapped around Hiccup, staring off into the woods. I broke the silence, clearing my throat.

"So... how are you feeling, Hiccup?" I ventured.

He started, turning to stare at me. Instead of answering, he shrugged. He turned back to stare at the river, refusing to meet my gaze. This was the exact spot that I had met Clone. This was the spot that I had seen Hiccup and Toothless, remembered seeing them playing together, splashing like brothers.

"Uh, you remember this spot, right, Hicc? This was your favorite spot, here under this tree, and we'd come here all the time."

Hiccup nodded absently. I wilted.

"C'mon, say something. I know you better that that. You're thinking something." I pushed.

Toothless shot me a look of disapproval. Hiccup sighed softly.

"I just..." He said softly. "Even after all Viggo did, I don't think..."

 _You don't think he deserved that death._ I finished silently. Sometimes I knew exactly what Hiccup was going to say.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't really either. Inferno dropped him in the woods, and last I saw, he was pretty torn up. He shouldn't come back, and that means we're safe. He probably didn't suffer long. Still, that had to be painful."

I realized too late that I probably hadn't made Hiccup feel _better,_ but _worse._ I had put my fat foot in my fat mouth. I glanced at him and saw him melting into Toothless' legs. Said AI was sending me an unimpressed look.

"Don't pay that any mind." He told Hiccup. "The man had it coming. He tortured you, our village, ripped my wings off... He had it coming. Now he can't hurt anyone ever again." He lifted his front paw and gently rubbed Hiccup's back.

Hiccup didn't respond. I chided myself and face-palmed.

"Sorry, Hiccup, I didn't mean to-" I started.

Toothless sent me a silent _shut up._ I snapped my jaw shut before I could cause more damage. I had already known Hiccup was a little more fragile than he had been before. My stupidity had hurt him again, like years ago when I had bullied him. I sighed.

"Well, for something else to talk about, how about you explain to me how you turned the Cyborg clones against- I mean, so they worked for us?" I pleaded.

Hiccup stirred slightly and looked at me. "Yeah, sure." He straightened up, apparently eager to talk about his programming skills. "To start with, it was just a simple manner of making a delayed algorithm. At first, it would send the 'work for viggo' signal over and over. Then over time, would change to a 'don't do what viggo says' signal. Then, the clones of me seemed to have some idea of what to do anyway, and eventually, they just started helping instead of hurting.I was hoping it would work, but I didn't expect it to work so well." Hiccup seemed pleased with himself, and he smiled at me.

"That's pretty incredible." I praised, patting him on the back. "Nice."

"I think it's time I fixed Toothless." Hiccup said suddenly. "I think I feel up to it now." He probably would have done it sooner, but he had been pretty out of it at first. The village was being rebuilt now, and things were better. We had some materials, and a temporary forge.

"Okay, great idea." I agreed. "Can I come with you?"

"Of course." Hiccup stated. "What else do you have to do?"

 _Plenty._ "Nothing. Let's go."

* * *

I gently pried Toothless' head cover off, placing it aside and staring inside.

"Looks good in here." I nodded, seeing everything in order. Lucky enough Viggo had decided not to be barbaric enough to rip up Toothless' brain. Richard had left a while ago to oversee some repairs. I was surprised my father hadn't come to see me yet, but maybe he was still recovering. I hoped I would see him soon. Suddenly, I noticed something. There was a noticeable slice through Toothless's head. Why hadn't I seen it? It looked like a knife cut, slicing straight through Toothless' head and into some gears. It looked like it had stunned him, but hadn't killed him or caused severe damage. But anymore to the right, and-

I shuddered. An image flashed into my mind, an old one. My father slicing his knife straight through Toothless' head.

It hadn't been my imagination. My fists clenched. Why in the world had he done that? He knew Toothless was a friend. I was confused. I heard a soft noise and whipped around to see a large figure in the door. In seconds, I was whipped back to the torture room. Ryker was holding a plate of slop with a nasty expression on his face.

"No, not again!" I yelled, backing into the wall, a small part of me wondering why I wasn't chained. "Stop! Let me go! I don't want to help you!" Pain seared through my leg, and I winced, collapsing. A large hand grabbed me and I panicked, turning and trying to bolt for the open door to freedom. "Let me GO!"

"Hiccup? Calm down!" Ryker taunted me.

"Let go of me! I don't want to! I don't-"

The nasty scene faded, and I found myself looking up into my father's eyes. He looked surprised and worried. My heart slowed, and I tried to stop hyperventilating. Once I felt barely passable, I stood on shaky legs.

"I'm f-fine." I whispered. "I'm okay."

"No you're not, Hiccup. You looked terrified and-" He stopped suddenly, and I heard a snort from Toothless. "It's alright, son. It's okay. It's over now." I looked up at him. He was stripped of the cyborg armor, and looked better. He still looked tired, though, and as though he had been through a lot. I smiled meekly at him and moved forward, wrapping my arms around him. He stiffened slightly and then relaxed, hugging me back.

"I'm glad you're okay, dad."

"I'm thankful you're here, Hiccup. I thought I'd lost you forever." I heard a new softness in his voice, and his hug became softer and gentler. I hadn't thought him capable of such gentleness. I began to cry, hugging him tightly and feeling his big strong hands rubbing my back and stroking my hair. It was comforting, after the screeches of war, after deaths, and fights, and cold chains, and torture, and so much pain. Now, all that was gone, replaced by the simple embrace of a loving father. I almost felt perfectly safe for the first time since my birth. I was calmed by the heart I could feel beating in his chest. His soft assurances.

Gee, I was nearly nineteen or so, and this was the first time this had truly happened. Sure, we had been reconciling since the Red Death, but after that, it had started awkwardly. We both didn't forget those years he neglected me overnight. Old habits of not listening to each other faded hard. We still argued and had rough days where we grated on each other's nerves, stepped accidentally on toes. But we tried, we made efforts, and here, they were paying off. We were here embracing freely as father and son, loving family, comforting each other after a storm. I no longer felt unloved. I felt free to hug him without feeling ashamed that I wasn't the son he wanted.

It felt good.

Finally, we split apart and I smiled at him, thanking him silently.

Then I decided to ask him something.

"Dad, I found a knife mark in Toothless' head. You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?"

He winced.

"Son... it was during the battle against Drago. The AI were brainwashed, remember?"

 _WHAT?_ "No, I didn't. I don't remember the battle."

My father sighed heavily. "Drago and his army showed up, with you, Richard and the others not far behind. Then, just when we were about to take to the air to attack with our AI, they turned on us, joining Drago. You and Toothless also took to the air, and began to attack."

I was stunned. There was no way! "But Toothless couldn't- I- no! There's no way! How could I have been attacking? Was I brainwashed too?"

Stoick shrugged heavily. "I don't know. But all I do know is what happened. Richard had me catapult him up there, and he knocked you off Toothless and tried to get Toothless down without hurting him. But... Toothless was going to kill him. I had to act, son. I stabbed Toothless because it was the only way I knew how to stop him."

I lowered my head, trying to show how much this hurt me.

"Y-you hurt Toothless..." I hissed softly.

"I'm sorry, son, but it was either Toothless or Richard. At the time, I had to make a decision. Son... please understand." He searched me pleadingly, with such an expression that begged me to forgive him.

Half of me wanted to. The moment we had just shared was fresh in my mind, but now all I could feel was this odd sense of betrayal. I stared at him, and he must have seen the conflict in my eyes.

"I'm sorry." He repeated. This time, he made no excuses, just gave me a raw apology. I calmed slightly, giving in and nodding.

"I just don't want to see you hurt him ever again." I said. He nodded.

"I'll try. I promise. Anyway, there's something I want to-"

Toothless suddenly stiffened. I turned to him.

"Bud? What? Are you okay?"

"Running algorithm. Fail-safe 7-8-5-0-1-3-2-k-i-l-l." Toothless droned. "Kill target Hiccup Haddock." His pupils thinned to slits and he turned ominously in my direction.

I felt a shiver travel up my spine.

"Toothless?"I asked in a small voice.

My father backed away, looking startled.

"What is he doing?"

"I don't know." I was beginning to panic as Toothless began to stalk me, looking not like my best friend but rather my enemy. "Toothless, stop!"

"I'll have the last laugh after all, Hiccup." Toothless said. "To think, after all those mind games, after all those chats we had, that it would end like this." He smiled mechanically. This felt wrong. What was he doing? "I figured out long ago that you would turn my Cyborgs against me. I knew you were clever. But not clever enough. Isn't fate artistically ironic? I win in the end, even if it is a small victory."

Toothless was grinning almost as a wolf now. "I'll take happiness from wherever I happen to be, knowing that in the end, your own love for your AI was your undoing. That this, this, my dear Hiccup, is the fate of you and all humans if you don't learn your lesson! You will die to the machines you love so much! You will cause your own end! And with that, Hiccup, I'll bet you'll want to know how this is happening. See, two can play at the algorithm game. I reprogrammed your precious "Toothless" to act friendly until the moment was right. Then, turn on you and kill you. Consider this my last present to you. Checkmate, my dear Hiccup. Checkmate."

Toothless opened his mouth, and I could see his flame-shooter firing up. This was Viggo's work. I was panicking, and suddenly, I felt wood against my back. I was outside, pinned to the wall of a house. This would be where I would die. I gasped.

"Toothless, NO! Don't do it! It's me, Hiccup! Your creator! Your friend! Toothless!"

Toothless paid me no heed, and I could hear the blast firing. Everything seemed to slow, except my rapidly beating heart. My life flashed before my eyes, this time with happy images of Toothless only at the end.

"Hiccup!" Someone yelled.

"Please..." I wheezed. Suddenly, I turned to see my dad running towards me.

"SON!"

The blast fired. I was pushed to the ground. The world blacked out for a moment, and, my ears were ringing.

I looked up. Toothless was standing rigid as a statue, smoke trailing from his open mouth. I followed his eyes to a heap on the ground. A crowd was gathering to see what had happened. Valka and Richard were among them. Everyone was staring at the scene, open-mouthed, wondering what had just happened. My blood rushing in me ears, I scrambled to my feet and ran to my dad, lying motionless on the ground. Toothless still did not move. There was a black spot on the wall, and apparently, my father had been thrown violently against it when he had rushed to save me from Toothless. Of course, none of this was going through my head right now.

I was panicking.

 _NO._

Pushing over his limp form, I stared at him for a moment before putting my head against his chest. I could feel a weak, barely noticeable heartbeat. It was there... then it was gone.

It faded out, then...

Nothing.

Shock hit me harder than landing in cold water in just my underwear. It couldn't be over just like that! My dad was strong, my dad was unstoppable! He had survived many things before, and just _moments_ ago, we had been hugging and bonding! His heartbeat had been _there!_ It wasn't fair at all! I began to cry, shaking him feebly, trying to get him to move.

I remembered the words we had exchanged after the Red Death.

 _"I don't know if we'll get the chance to be a family, but I want that chance!"_

 _"We'll get that chance."_

I was sobbing now, hardly aware of Richard at my side, of my mother coming over and having no idea what to do, of the clamor in the crowds. Nothing registered. Until I was aware of a big black shape moving closer. My head snapped up, and through my tears, I could see Toothless. He had moved closer and looked upset. He gently nuzzled my father's limp hand.

I felt something _snap._

"No." I hissed. "No! Get away from him!"

Toothless looked up at me, shocked. "H-hiccup? B-but..."

"Go on! GET AWAY!" I yelled, feeling wave after wave of pain and anger and shock move through me. "GO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!"

Toothless drew back as if I had attacked him, looking hurt and confused. It didn't even cross my mind that he was innocent. Just that my father was _DEAD_ and it was all his fault. He stared at me for a moment before turning and blundering off through the crowds. I slumped back, feeling exhausted and useless and _stupid._

I collapsed on the body of my father, sobbing.

* * *

I stared blankly at the scene before me, watching as if I was a stranger, far away. Villagers were carrying my father's body onto a pyre to be burned. All that was passing through my head, over and over was _This can't be real. It has to be a nightmare._ I was sobbing, leaning into someone, I didn't quite know who.

"We're here to honor a great man."

A voice spoke. It was cracked with pain, and I followed it to it's source. Richard. He was still Stoick's successor, I realized, and he was speaking the eulogy.

"A warrior, a Chief, a father. He was something to every one of us. He died doing one last act of love. Of protection. He will be honored." Richard was having a hard time speaking now, a hard time keeping his voice level. "He- he was a father to me, too, when I felt alone. I can only hope that I can be half the Chief he was." He motioned that he was done, and Inferno reached his large head forward and lit the pyre. It lit in a blaze of glory, and I watched if for a while. I eventually couldn't watch anymore and turned away.

 _This is wrong._

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Richard.

"They found this on him. I think he was meaning to give it to you." He said, his voice cracked with pain. He held out a familiar object. I recognized it as my flute. He placed it in my hand and I clutched onto it, beginning to cry all over again.

"Thank you." I whispered, hardly getting my voice to respond. Richard nodded and began to back away. I felt overcome with pain and ran to him, throwing my arms around him. He stiffened with surprise but hugged me tightly.

"Thank you..." I whispered again. What was going to happen now? It had all happened so quickly. One second, Everything was fine, and getting better, the next, everything had shattered again. There seemed to be no end to the pain caused by Viggo Grimborn. I felt lightheaded as the weight of everything crushed me again. My father, Stoick the vast, Stoick the unstoppable... was gone. The world spun, and I let myself collapse partway into Richard's arms.

I let myself be guided home, where Richard stayed with me a while, asking me if I needed anything. I just shook my head numbly, clutching to the flute so tightly my knuckles were white. I eventually calmed down enough to think everything over. Viggo had planted a trap in Toothless meant to kill me. Toothless had tried, but my father had saved me, taking the fatal blast for me. Richard was now going to be the chief. I was fatherless. Toothless was gone- oh gosh, Toothless! Where was he? I regretted chasing him off now. More pain hit me. What if he never came back because I was so harsh to him? What if I had lost him too? The pain was too much to bear, and I felt the room spin around me.

I was gasping for breath, trying to stay calm and failing. Toothless was gone, wasn't he? After all that, this is how it ends. I let out a cry of pain and whimpered, clutching to the flute.

"No!" I cried. "I'm sorry! Please!"

What was done was done.

Was this my fault? All of it?

Were my clones just as upset about my father's death? Where were they?

My thoughts blurred together in a merciless stream of pain. Sleep eventually gripped me and dragged me into troubled, dark dreams.


	35. The final step

I was curled up pathetically on the couch, holding my flute. There was silence, and all I could hear was my own heartbeat and breathing. I had cried all the tears possible, now I felt as drained as a squeezed sponge. I just stared straight ahead, resting my head on an arm. There was a soft knock, and then the door opened. It was Astrid. I had expected Richard or my mother, but instead, Astrid came in, moving towards me as slowly as if she would spook me or shatter me if she moved too fast.

It had been a week since my father's death, and I still hadn't fully accepted that it had happened.

Toothless had not returned.

Many AI were missing.

Things looked bleak. I hadn't even realized I had closed my eyes until I opened them to Astrid's face, creased with worry. I didn't really feel like talking to her. Not because I felt like I would say something stupid, but because I had heard the same things over and over, and if I heard it one more time, I would go insane.

 _How are you feeling?_

 _It's okay, things will be fine._

 _We're here for you._

 _You're not alone._

 _We're all suffering with you._

I avoided Astrid's gaze, staring instead at my hands that held a wooden flute. A gift. A piece of my father. It sat in my scratched, blistered, white hands, looking calm and peaceful in my grasp. I almost felt like playing one of the tunes my father had taught me.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked quietly. "You okay?"

I didn't answer, feeling my tongue unwilling to move. I felt embarrassed and stupid and useless. I quivered, closing my eyes, only to see my father's eyes in my head. He stared at me, calm and loving, then shocked and startled, then cold and lifeless. It was too much. I opened my eyes again and stared straight into Astrid's gaze.

I felt _trapped._

It was an endless cycle of pain. And whenever I felt anything other than soul crushing grief, I would see something that reminded me of his death, and it would come back in the form of a painful slug in the stomach. But I was incapable of crying again.

I was _not okay._

"Hiccup, please answer me." Astrid said, even though she was talking to someone grief-stricken, and there was gentleness in her voice, there was firmness. "You can't hide in here forever. You can't sit here on this couch feeling sorry for yourself forever, you have to get up and move on."

Was she _serious?!_

I hadn't just stubbed my toe or anything. I had lost my father! A family member I had looked up to since I could talk! I had loved him, respected him, and now he was dead! And she wanted me to just _shrug it off?!_

I glared at her, unable to speak properly just how much this had hurt me.

"I mean, yes, he was a great man." She continued, apparently unaware of how mad I was at her. "And yes, it must hurt more than anything I can imagine. I'm not saying you forget him, or pretend he never existed. I-" She stopped to collect her thoughts. "Remember what happened after you lost your leg?"

I was taken aback by this a little. I managed to nod.

"It's like that. You feel the pain, the loss. But you don't forget you ever had it. You get up and walk again, you move on. But you still never forget." She stared at me expectantly. "I- I'm sorry Hiccup, I just- I really want to help you, and you won't talk to me. You don't talk at all anymore. I'm trying-"

My anger faded, replaced by an empty feeling. She just wanted to help, like everyone else. She just had different ways of doing it. She was encouraging me in her own way. I tried to do something to tell her that I appreciated it, but my body wouldn't respond. I was weighed down by exhaustion, and I couldn't talk.

"I guess I'll just leave, then. Sorry for hurting you." She said curtly, but I saw pain and sympathy in her eyes as she stood.

 _Do something, Hiccup!_

"I-" My words died in my throat as she turned to me. "I-"

She said nothing, but sat down next to the couch and watched me, her eyes encouraging me to speak. A hidden well of tears sprang up and opened, beginning to flow down my already tear-stained cheeks.

"A-a-Astrid... please don't leave." I choked, surprised at just how worn my voice sounded as it crawled out of my mouth, every word making my throat sting, my heart beginning to pound. "I'm sorry-"

She nodded. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry if I came across as uncaring, because I do care, I do!" I was startled by tears beginning to flow from her blue eyes.

"I know you care." I whispered, trying to show I really cared about her, too.

"I missed you a lot when you were gone, more than I admitted to anyone. If you tell anyone, I'll punch you." She spluttered the last part.

I was taken aback by this. "You missed me?"

"We all did. You should have seen Rich, he was a mess. Poor guy." She nodded.

I bit my lip. "Oh. I- to be honest, I hadn't even really realized how long I was gone."

"Three years, give or take..." Astrid said softly. "Three long years."

I sighed softly. Then, I put all my strength into moving. It brought more pain than I expected, and I wheezed from the effort, but I managed to sit up. Astrid reached out to help me, but hesitated. She instead sat beside me, and her warmth comforted me. I suddenly realized I was taller than her. How had that happened? She had been taller than me since I was fifteen. Wait... three years after the Red death... three years of being gone... I wasn't almost nineteen like I had thought. I was twenty one! I rubbed a hand over my chin and was aware of some very thin stubble beginning to grow. If I had anything of my dad, I would grow a beard too. I realized my prosthetic was kind of small for my growing legs, and it dawned on me just how much I had grown over three years of imprisonment, no less. I had been a pathetic shell when Richard had found me, but now that I was fed and cleaned.. well, cleaner, anyway, I-

My thoughts were interrupted as I turned to Astrid.

"You haven't seen yourself since you got back, have you?" She asked.

"I have gone three years without a mirror." I joked lightly, feeling surprisingly happy now.

I was growing.

Astrid stood up and walked over to the table, grabbing a mirror. She handed it to me, and I peered into it. I hardly recognized the face that stared back. I almost looked like a shaven version of my father. Minus a few years. It was incredible. I stared up at my hair as well. It had gone from being a little mop on my head to sticking in all directions. It almost looked as though it had been struck by lightning, a auburn mess all over my head. It was long enough that I definitely needed a haircut.

"Well, guess it's time for a haircut." I remarked, brushing a hand through the mess of hair.

"I have a better idea." Astrid smiled and reached out for my hair, and I felt her soft hands brush my neck as she worked. She was so gentle. I had thought her the fearless no nonsense or softness warrior type. But here she was, working with my hair, and I felt oddly relaxed in her presence. I realized just how much she had grown during my time gone from Berk. She was beautiful, as always. But she seemed... nicer?

"There." She said. "Finished."

I pulled the mirror up and looked at myself. She had braided my hair into two little braids under my right ear. I chuckled.

"I think it looks cute on you." She said, gently rubbing a hand on my shoulder. I felt warmth rush into my cheeks.

"Really?"

"Of course, Hiccup... you look pretty handsome now. A few years really grew you up." She said, and was it my imagination, or was she blushing? "Inside and out."

"Well, thank you, milady." I responded, trying to hide my growing embarrassment and feelings from long ago to focus on the now. "And if I might say so, you're lovely. Of course that's my opinion, but-"

She blinked at me, and our eyes met.

"Hiccup..." She drew in closer, and gently kissed me on the cheek. "Thank you." She said softly.

I smiled and my face suddenly felt very heated. I had to be blushing, and I tried to hide it. Astrid giggled and moved even closer. I couldn't move, and my heart was pounding hard. She moved in...

And our lips touched.

* * *

I was standing outside, looking at the village. Astrid was beside me, being a source of comfort. Some villagers were walking around, trying to pretend everything was fine. Some of them looked at me sympathetically. I sighed softly. I turned and saw Richard walking toward me. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around me in a tight friendly supportive embrace.

"Good to see you up." He said, backing away. I looked him over. He was two years older than me. And he looked worn but strong, now wearing some better armor that wasn't tattered. I hadn't really realized just how old we really were... six years.

He must have caught my expression.

"You okay? Hey, wait. Your hair."

I shrugged. "Astrid said it looked cute on me."

"Astrid was right." Richard joked gently, punching me in the shoulder. "Real grown up, buddy."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "I'm gonna keep it this way."

"Hey, whatever you-"

"Wait." I interrupted. "Do you guys hear that?"

It started as a low hum, and grew. Inferno, who had walked up behind Richard, apparently did hear it, and he began growling. The hum turned into a rumble. Which turned into a roar. And with that, a large amount of AI appeared over the trees, with men on their back. I saw Toothless among them, in the front.

 _FLYING. WITH WINGS._

They flew over the village, making a show. They turned around, and Toothless broke off to land in front of me and Richard. I stared in disbelief. Viggo was riding on Toothless, wearing the very Cyborg armor that I had designed. Viggo must have given Toothless his wings back. And-

He was alive.

Inferno immediately began snarling in Viggo's direction.

Viggo seemed just as surprised that I was alive as I was that he was alive. We stared for a moment, than rage hit me. _He killed my father._ Without thinking, I dashed forward with an angry roar and tackled him to the ground. We tussled for a moment until I felt a strong force knock me off Viggo. I tumbled in the dust before looking up to see Viggo getting onto Toothless' back. He turned to me and Richard as if nothing had happened.

"This is your final chance to surrender. As you can see, I clearly have the upper hand here. I have my men, your AI, and you are at a severe disadvantage. Where is your Chief that I may speak to him to discuss your terms of surrender?" He said calmly and smugly.

Richard stepped forward. "You're looking at him."

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "Where's Chief Frank Stoick Haddock? I would assume that nothing would keep him? He's a strong man."

"You." I hissed hatefully. "You killed him."

Viggo turned to me. "Ah, so that's why you're here and he isn't." He frowned softly. "I guess your AI missed."

I felt burning rage on the verge of exploding in me. I felt Astrid's hand on my shoulder, and calmed, but only slightly.

"Well, with your previous Chief dead, your village can't be that strong." Viggo grinned. "Well then. Let's discuss terms of surrender now. Please don't make this any more difficult than it has to be."

Richard drew a sword. "We will never surrender or bow to a murderer like you, Viggo. You might as well turn and run right now, because if you think that you'll have an easy victory, think again. We'll fight you to the last, with every bit of strength we have. We're Berkians!"

The crowd around us roused at his speech, drawing weapons and lifting them, beginning to chant "Ne-ver! Ne-ver!"

I joined in the chant, and Viggo just frowned slightly. "Very well then. But you forced me into this."

He guided Toothless into the sky, and I saw my friend's eyes. They were empty and emotionless. Viggo had reprogrammed Toothless or something horrible like that. I had to get to him. The AI turned on the already ruined Berk and began to destroy it even more, and Berkians began to attack back, upset to be hurting their AI, but desperate to survive. I kept my eyes fixed on Toothless, a crazy, stupid, absolutely _suicidal_ plan forming in my mind, much like the one Richard had come up with years and years ago in the kill ring. I got onto Inferno in front of Richard just as he was going to take off.

"Take me to Toothless." I yelled.

"What? Are you crazy?" Richard questioned.

"Yes! Now go!" I replied.

"Okay!" Richard angled Inferno toward Toothless, who instead of attacking, was hovering over Berk with a smug Viggo on his back. He had the look of someone who was about to swat a very irritating fly. Until he saw us coming toward him. He watched, even more smug looking as we approached.

"Another brilliant plan, Hiccup?" He asked. "Well, don't let me stop you, boy! You're out of options anyway!"

I ignored him, having Inferno move closer and closer to Toothless.

"Bud? Are you there?" I asked, terror shaking me as flashbacks of his thin, horrifying eyes and the blast, and- _Focus, Hiccup._ "I'm here, Toothless. Come back to me."

"He's not yours anymore. He belongs to me now." Viggo spat. "But please, oh brilliant little boy, try to take him. He won't miss a second time."

At this, Toothless' jaws opened, and I heard a faint whistle of his fire building. I winced back a little, terror rushing through me, my vision blurring, my heart beating wildly, every breath was painful. I forced myself to move forward, holding a hand toward Toothless' nose.

"Toothless. It wasn't your fault. You didn't mean to hurt him, Viggo made you do it." My voice was cracking, but I forced myself to focus on Toothless' eyes and nose, not his widening mouth with a faint blue glow...

"You would never hurt him. You would never hurt me." I said, tears blotting out my vision. All I could see now was his eyes. Inferno was flying as close as he could to Toothless, and I was leaning over the side, trying to get to my friend.

"Please, bud. You're my friend."

I touched his nose, and something flickered oh so faintly between us.

"My best friend." I whispered, emotion filling me.

 _You're all I have left. I'm not going to push you away ever again._

 _I won't leave you. I won't let you go.  
_

He snorted, shaking his head back and forth. His pupils flickered between thin and wide, fighting a battle between programming and real emotion. I watched as he fought, Viggo losing his smugness with every second Toothless fought.

"H-how are you doing that...?" He asked, sounding stunned. I ignored him.

"That's it, Toothless! It's me!"

"Hiccup!" Toothless said happily, his eyes flickering with recognition. "Hiccup!"

"NO!" Viggo yelled, grabbing a sword and smacking Toothless with the blunt end. Toothless roared and grabbed it, throwing Viggo off his back. Viggo fell with a scream, and I was filled wit excitement. I stood on Inferno's back and leaped to Toothless. He caught me, and it just felt right. And Toothless roared with happiness as we turned toward the battle. The AI were turning on Viggo's men, dumping them onto the ground where our warriors fought them until they ran for it. I saw Richard whooping as he sent Ryker running for his life. And within moments, the battle had turned. From hopeless to hopeful as the last of Viggo's men ran out into the woods, AI at their heels, screeching furiously.

And then it was over. We landed and began to mill about, looking after each other. Richard sent some scouts to find Viggo and bring him back. People were being healed and reuniting. It was happy and beautiful.

"Your father would have been proud." I turned to see my mother. It looked like she had fought too, judging by the fresh wounds. She didn't look worse for wear, though. Her eyes were glinting with strength and pride. "And I am too."

"Thanks, mom." I nodded.

"Hiccup!" A frantic voice called my name. I turned just in time to see Astrid run up to me. She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. "You scared me, don't EVER do that again!" She drew back and slugged me in the arm.

"Ow!" I snorted indignantly. "Wha-"

I was caught off guard as she pulled me into a long, passionate kiss. I felt my heart flutter with joy.

"That's for coming back." She stated, staring into my eyes.

"Okay, I can get used to this." I murmured, smiling.

Astrid flashed me a knowing look and kissed me on the cheek.

"Me too." I heard her whisper into my ear.

* * *

I was in the forge, working on my latest project. I heard footsteps and turned around to see Astrid.

"Greetings, milady." I said cheerily.

"Whatcha working on, babe?" She asked, walking over to me.

"Uh... promise you won't laugh?" I asked.

"Sure." Astrid agreed.

"Outfits." I stated. Astrid immediately covered her mouth with a hand and suppressed a snort. I rolled my eyes.

"You said you wouldn't laugh."

"Outfits?" She asked. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of low on clothes that fit me." I gestured to all of me, the only thing I was wearing was an undersized green shirt and some too-small pants with one of my raggedy old fur vests.

She nodded. "Okay, makes sense, but in the forge?"

"I don't really have a place to live right now." It was true, Richard had moved into the Chief's hut, since it was proper to do so. Most of the other houses were pretty beaten up, and were being torn down and rebuilt. So, I was basically living in the temporary forge, which I was adding on to to make it a home for me and Toothless. But I desperately needed clothes, and I was taking the chance to make some cool outfits.

"Okay, what are you making, specifically? This?" She motioned to the heap of black leather on the table.

"Yup. And this one's finished. Want to see me in it?"

"Yes." Astrid nodded eagerly. "Go get into it, already!" She pointed to the back room.

I nodded and grabbed the outfit, eager to get it on. I threw off my small clothes, and put on the new outfit. I strapped everything, and stepped out. Astrid let out a gasp of excitement.

I was wearing a green shirt with dark green pants, a big boot on my one good foot and my new prosthetic on the other. I had large forearm covers that were black and brown, one had a dagger in it. The other carried a compass, paper, and a pencil. I had a chest-plate with a lopsided asymmetrical look, and it had a little button with a red dragon on it. On the shoulder pads, one was shorter with brown underneath, and the right one was longer, and had a red skull on it. Under my left arm, I was holding my new helmet, with a flip up visor.

"You look amazing!" Astrid squealed, uncharacteristically excited.

"Thank you." I grinned. "Oh, and-" I turned and pointed to Toothless' tail-fin. The one Viggo had given him back had fallen off, so I had made him a red one with the same skull symbol as on my right shoulder pad.

Astrid gave me a thumbs up.

Things were finally returning to normal.

And it felt good, finally enjoying some relaxing time with friends, no wars, just enjoying relaxing.

I had earned this.

And I was going to make it last.

The future was finally looking bright again.

* * *

 **A/N: Go to my Tumblr for an image of this scene that I drew! It's under the same username and logo, so you should have no trouble finding me. Search for HTMAF in my search bar, and you should see it pop up.**

 **And don't forget to review!**


	36. Epilouge

I pulled Toothless into a dive, and then pulled him up, his powerful machine wings working to speed us up. I was enjoying myself immensely, as we swooped and dived. Wind buffeted me with every turn and adjustment, but I had grown used to it over the years. Finally, I pulled up, and had Toothless fly basically straight up, past clouds, until my head spun a little from the height.

"Alright, Bud. One more time?"

Toothless sighed. "You and your inventions are going to be the death of us!"

"C'mon, bud, it'll be fine. This is the third version, I made some major adjustments, and now-"

"Fine, just do it, don't talk me to death!"

 _Here goes._

I let myself slip off Toothless and into a headfirst dive. My stomach clenched at the speed I was falling, my heart pounding. It was exhilarating. I looked at Toothless. He was diving beside me, and he let a silly grin slip onto his face.

"Woo!" I yelled.

He grunted in agreement as we plummeted. Finally, I braced myself, slipping my arms into two small loops on my legs, one above my boot, and the other above my prosthetic. Then, I snapped up my arms, and felt a sudden burst of air below me. Two thin leather flaps were stretching from my arms all the way down my sides like wings, creating a pocket of air below me, just barely keeping me in the air. I quickly folded my arm in to press a button on my belt, and a fin popped out of my back, stabilizing my rickety flight enough that I wouldn't rock side to side. I looked back at Toothless, who was flying just above and behind me, watching.

"See? I'm flying just fine!" I yelled back at him.

He rolled his eyes. "For now!"

I grinned and turned back to where I was going. Suddenly, I pitched wildly to the left. I turned back and saw that my left wing had ripped off my leg. I was plummeting now. I heard a roar and a whistle as Toothless dived after me, trying desperately to catch me. The ground was coming up fast.

 _Uh oh._

I looked back at Toothless. He wasn't going to make it in time. He was too far back. I felt my body jerk again, and I went from falling to having my arm nearly ripped off as something grabbed me. I looked up and saw Stormfly's legs and body. Astrid was peeking off the side, looking thoroughly amused.

"Flight suit malfunction, babe?" She asked, looking barely able to keep a grin off her face.

"Yup."

"Third time this week." Astrid remarked, one of her eyebrows raising.

"I guess I can't stop falling for you." I grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes and angled Stormfly toward Berk, dropping me right side up on the ground, and I had only just gotten to my feet when Toothless walked up to me, looking terrified and furious.

"I told you!" He yelled at me. "And this time, you nearly died!"

"As usual." Astrid put in.

"This is not normal!" Toothless continued as if no one had spoken. "It's like you don't even want to live to fifty! I am tired of having to save you from yourself!"

I sighed softly and walked up to him.

"So you want an apology?"

"That would be nice!" Toothless snorted.

"Alright, I'm sorry, Toothless." I moved up and hugged him.

"Yeah, until next time." Toothless mumbled. He glared at me, clearly unimpressed. "Next time you test that stupid contraption."

I sighed again. "Alright bud, guess I'll stop testing my flight suit."

He grunted. "Better."

There was a roar from above, and four heads snapped upwards. Inferno landed on the ground, and Chief Richard stepped off. He had grown a lot since he had been named Chief. He was much taller, still strong and kind as ever, and now he had a rather nice beard. His eyes were twinkling with a smile.

"Hey. Whats happening, guys?" He asked, walking forward.

"Oh, Hiccup nearly got himself killed again." Stormfly chuckled. "Status quo."

"Again?" Richard raised an eyebrow and stroked his beard. "You should get a less dangerous hobby, Hicc."

"I can't help it if I have an adventurous spirit." I stated, walking up and hugging him. It wasn't uncommon to see us hugging because of how good friends we were.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Richard agreed.

We all turned and walked toward the village, with Toothless cheering up, and the six of us bantering and chatting as friends do.

 _Eight years. Eight years since my father's death. Eight years since Richard became Chief. A long, worthwhile eight years._

The village came into view, and Fish waved at us as we passed his lab. It looked like he had a new project in the works. He was our scientist, always working to make our lives easier. I waved back at him.

 _So much has happened since then. Richard's dad finally passed away. He went in his sleep, but not before telling his son just how proud he was of him. Richard changed. But for the better. He's a fine Chief, strong and fair. He trains our new generation to fight for Berk. He does what's best for his people. He always did..._

We passed the house my mother was living in. she was sitting outside with Cloudjumper, watering her garden. She gave me a friendly wave as well, her eyes sparkling with pride.

 _I fell in love. Astrid and me have been getting closer and closer, and for these eight years, I have been enjoying every moment. Every kiss, every tear, all of it was worth it. We had our bumps, of course, as any couple will, but they became smoother and smoother the more we learned to trust each other. And now... we're going to be married. Richard will say things like "It's about time.". But I feel like he really is happy for us._

 _He has yet to find anyone, and I wonder if he ever will. After all... he has to have an heir._

I spotted Tuff standing next to Barf and Belch, gently shining the AI's parts. He turned and gave me a respectful nod. I nodded back.

 _Tuff lost his sister in the battle against the Cyborgs. It turns out one had her, and when Barf blasted it, it dropped her. She died from the fall, and Tuff was heartbroken. He's never been the same since. He's never played a prank since Ruff's death, never told a corny joke... he just takes good care of Barf and Belch, and hangs out in the forest a lot._

 _I guess a lot of things have changed. A lot of people have changed._

 _And I have, too._

* * *

Only days later, I was standing next to Astrid as Richard oversaw the wedding, and we exchanged vows, became a couple.

* * *

Weeks more, and we were in our own house that kind of awkwardly stood in and around the forge. I had worked hard to build it for us and the family we would have. Toothless had his own bed to sleep in, with charging station designed by Fish.

* * *

Months passed, and I was becoming a father. I couldn't describe the joy I had felt when Astrid had announced it.

* * *

Years, and I was frolicking with a young girl as she chased me through the snow, letting out excited yelps as Toothless bounded in front of her, showering her in snow. I laughed and ran up, Toothless knocking me into the snow with his tail.

"Freya! Help me!" I yelped. Instead of helping, my daughter jumped on top of me, grabbing snow and mushing it into my beard. We all went inside caked in snow, and Astrid made us hot chocolate.

"You're hopeless." She joked, nudging me in the ribs.

* * *

Yet more years, and two more children later, I was writing a book describing my early adventures with Toothless.

* * *

Decades, and I'm sitting in front of my wide-eyed grandchildren, describing what life was like during the war, and how it changed.

* * *

A century. I've decided to put all my memories in some books. Only Fish had a different idea. He had passed years earlier, and he had left me a gift. I pick up a book that he left. I open it and read.

 _Dear Hiccup,_

 _My good friend. I know you'll read this eventually. I remembered how much you felt sad when you knew Toothless would fall into disrepair without you years from now, and I decided to do something for you._

 _I have created a perfect replica of you. It won't age. All you have to do is follow the instructions, and you'll live forever as long as you keep your new body healthy. It took a long while to engineer, and I won't go into all the boring details here._

 _All I know is that the world still needs you. And this is the only gift I could give you to match what you gave me._

 _I know you'll put it to good use._

 _Love and friendship,_

 _-Matthew_

 _(p.s.)_

 _Be careful._

* * *

I am now staring down at this book. Finishing the last pen-strokes. After Astrid passed away, I found Fish's gift and took Toothless and left Berk. Now, I'm young again.

I feel old.

It's a weird feeling to be in this new body. I look like I'm only fifteen, but In reality, I'm about a century older. It responds perfectly, and I feel great. Now Toothless and me can stay together for as long as I can maintain us both. Who knows how long we'll be able to live?

I never did figure out anything about the Blue heart. Apparently, I built it in the future. Or more accurately, will build it someday. Who knows how it got into Viggo's hands? Maybe fate had something to do with it. Maybe it's a mystery for another day. Or maybe you will figure it out yourself. One way or another, I suppose it'll get built and Viggo will get it. And everything that happened years ago will happen to my younger self, that will lead me here, to make it someday. Who knows how time travel really works, and if it is actually possible. Maybe I'll try doing it myself someday.

I have all the time I need.

For now...

I will leave my books for someone to find, buried down in the cave where I made Toothless, hidden in a chest. I've finished writing now, and I've decided to finish what I started. I'm going to go make a difference wherever I can. There's still so much to do. Berk was just the beginning. The world needs me.

And it needs you, too.

If no one does anything to stop the injustices in this world, nothing will change for the better. Things will get worse and worse, and innocent lives will be ruined. You have to try.

You have to do something.

If you're reading this... I hope you realize that, with all my heart.

If I can make a difference, a useless runt born out of times of war...

Then certainly, you can too.

If not now, then later.

But only you know what you can do.

And there might be things you can do you simply haven't discovered yet.

All you have to do is try.

Don't be afraid of the unknown.

Remember, if you will, back to chapter twelve. My father's songs, full of warning and foreboding. Full of disguised hope.

Let me sing a new song for you.

 _Can you hear that song?_

 _That's the sound of hope._

 _With each new dawn comes a new wrong._

 _But we can make a change._

 _It starts small, a tiny seed..._

 _But with time, hope grows._

 _There may be much injustice..._

 _Lives taken in vain..._

 _Racism against fellow man..._

 _Wars that destroy homes..._

 _We cannot ignore it._

 _It would be horrible if we did._

 _Instead, we learn..._

 _That with a new dawn..._

 _Comes a new beginning._

 _Comes new life._

 _Comes hope._

* * *

(p.s. I know it doesn't rhyme. I didn't inherit my father's rhyming skills.)

* * *

 **Looong A/N: I know it's been a long wait for this story to end. But here we are! I know this story used to be really popular, and now is barely getting a few reviews, but I'm proud of it nonetheless.  
**

 **...I have a few confessions to make.**

 **I didn't plan anything past just after the battle with the red death.**

 **I literally came up with this while just lying in bed playing with action figures.**

 **And Richard, who oddly enough is sort of a Snotlout replacement... is sort of based off of Hiccup more than Snotlout. So... all you people who ship Hiccup and Richard might want to rethink that a little because you're basically shipping Hiccup with another version of himself. Awkward. Richard is also sort of his own character, though.** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

 **And, I have some little FYI for you, too.**

 **The AI Hiccup kills at the beginning of the story looks like the Angel of Death form of Asriel Dreemurr from Undertale.**

 **The entire chapter "Frankenstein" was originally different, but I lost it so I had to redo it. So it's different and you'll never read the original. Sorry.**

 **Toothless originally had a brown fin in the story because Hiccup ran out of black rubber and had to use some brown stuff, but I ended up not mentioning it at all in the story. You decide if he does or not. He does get the red one, though.**

 **Hiccup also originally didn't hook up with Astrid, but I added it in because someone kept accusing me of not liking the ship. Proved them wrong.**

 **Ruff's death was totally ad-libbed. I'm gonna come out and say it. But before Threni wonders if I did it to mirror his story? No. It was written in before I knew Ruffnut died in TDK. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
**

 **Richard wasn't originally going to be chief, he was going to die, actually, but I realized that I was just killing too many characters and Hiccup wouldn't be very ready to be chief after being freaking tortured for three years, then losing his father and Richard, so I cut that out and made Richard chief instead. It suits him. And if you were wondering why he's chief instead of Hiccup and it unsatisfied you, just remember Richard is kind of Hiccup. If that doesn't make you feel better, tough, it's my story.**

 **Viggo was treated much like Drago at the end, and If you're wondering why he acts differently by the end, It's because he's not exactly very calm. He's having to put up with this goshdanged kid who won't die- And also, even though it isn't mentioned, he does die when the AI rip him apart, but his men revive him with the blue heart.**

 **Blue heart ex machina!**

 **Actually, even though it doesn't have an explanation in the book, I assure you, I put lots of though into it after I introduced it. Here's a run down on how it works.**

 **Hiccup does end up experimenting with time travel, and that ends up being dangerous, so he makes the Heart, a gadget that isn't quite fixed in time that will keep him alive through time. It's quite a piece of engineering, but ends up traveling itself through time back to a long time before Hiccup is even born, where it's tinkered with, buried, travels all over the place, and even malfunctions a few times. But it eventually falls into the hands of Viggo Grimborn, who modifies it to clone things and keep clones stable, and it seems to work. He makes more hearts, but they don't work nearly as well. Hence why Clone disappears when he removed it. The heart they use to find Hiccup breaks and is useless.**

 **There you go. Even Hiccup isn't entirely sure what happened, but now you know.**

 **Any questions for me? Ask me in the reviews.**

 **Any questions for any of the characters in the story? Ask them in the reviews.**

 **And just in general, please review and tell me what you think. I'd like to thank anyone who has read this far.**

 **...The end.**


	37. (Bonus) The snow witch

I was running through the trees, half covered in snow, panting and gasping.

I could only hope I'd outrun her, but she'd catch me eventually.

Then she'd take me to her fortress with her terrifying beast and torture me until I talked. Frantic, I spun around to see her coming straight for me. I winced as she leaped at me, roaring.

I landed in the snow with a grunt, and began to call for help, begging for someone to save me.

"Gotcha, daddy!" Freya yelped happily, "pinning" me to the ground with her short arms, which were wrapped in several layers of sweaters. Her words were muffled by the scarf Astrid had insisted she wear.

"Yes, yes, you did. Oh what will you do with me, oh snow witch?" I asked dramatically.

"Torture you!" She cackled, getting up and trying to drag me to her fortress, which in reality was only a few large lumps of snow sticking out of the ground. Toothless was standing there, trying to look evil and failing.

"Oh no, who shall save me?" I called into the cold air. "Toothless? My loyal friend?"

Toothless pretended to look confused. "But I thought I was the evil beast?"

"You are my evil minion beast!" Freya announced. "Help me get the prisoner into the dungeon!"

"Okay." Toothless said, walking up and picking me up by the scruff of my jacket, which caused laughter from Freya. I yelped and tried to get loose, pretending to panick.

"Betrayed by my own dragon." I sniffed as Toothless dragged me ungracefully on his hind legs all the way back to the snow piles. "What a tragedy!"

"Wait," Freya ran up and sat on the snow pile, doing her best impression of an evil laugh. "I have you now! Beg me for mercy!"

"Please spare me, snow witch!" I pretended to cry.

"No! I sentence you to be pummeled with snowballs!" Freya stood with an arm in the air, declaring it for the rest of the village to hear. "My beast! Snow him!"

Toothless oblidged, dipping his mouth in the snow and then spraying me with it. He then began laughing at me, because I was now covered in snow from top to bottom. I gave a dramatic gasp and clutched my heart, then fell over into the snow.

"Daddy?" Freya asked, peeking over at me. "Are you dead?"

I could hardly hold back the laughter. Freya poked me in the cheek a couple times, mumbling in confusion.

"Toothy, is he dead?" She asked, sounding worried.

I couldn't hold back the grin, but I had to hold still a couple seconds more...

"Da-daddy?" Freya asked.

I sprang up suddenly, growling. "I'm a ghooost and I'm going to hauuunt you!"

Freya screamed and ran for it as fast as her short legs could carry her, and she disappeared behind a tree. I stood, brushing the snow off.

"Think I convinced her?" I asked Toothless.

He rolled his eyes and snorted. "You scared the living daylights out of her. When you actually die, she's going to think you're haunting all of Berk."

"Nah, I won't die any time soon." I joked, nudging him with my metal leg.

Toothless rolled his eyes again. I walked over toward Freya, ready for another attack. I peeked around the tree and saw nothing.

"Freya?" My daughter was nowhere in sight.

But suddenly, A snowball hit me in the face from seemingly nowhere. I turned to see Astrid, a beaming expression on her face.

"Gatcha, babe." She laughed, Freya peeking from behind her with a grin.

"No one, not even my wife can cream me with a snowball and get away with it!" I yelled, scooping some snow and running at them with a smile on my face.

Freya stepped away while I ran at Astrid. My wife grabbed my arm and flipped me over into the snow.

"You were saying?" She teased as I got up. "Anyway, you three should be coming inside. It's getting dark out."

"Alright, milady." I agreed. "But only after I get my revenge."

"Hiccup-" She was interrupted by the kiss I gave her. Freya groaned aloud and turned toward the house.

"C'mon, Toothy, they're getting mushy again." She complained.

"Alright, now I'll come inside." I told Astrid. She grinned and turned toward the house.

"I've got hot chocolate." Astrid stated.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" I asked, looping my arm through hers. She backed away.

"Not till you dry off. You're soaking." She giggled.

I ended up chasing Astrid into the house, with her giggling.

"No, Hiccup! You're wet and snowy!"

"All the better to hug you with!" I grinned, closing the door behind us.


	38. (Bonus) Brothers at heart

The whole day was sort of depressing. At the end of it, I walked up the hill west of Berk for a rest. As I approached, I became aware of a flute playing. A soft, mellow tune, carried by the wind, reached my ears and tickled them. I smiled softly. I had been wondering where Hiccup went all day.

I wandered all the way up to see him sitting on the hill cross-legged, flute to his mouth. The tune he was playing was sort of sad, as if the flute was crying a little, mourning. It echoed out into the evening air, making it almost spooky. I listened, relaxing. Hiccup was good. He played like he had done it his entire life. I sat down beside him at length, and he stopped, turning to me.

"Hey." He mumbled. "Sorry about disappearing today."

"Don't worry about it." I assured. "Go ahead and keep playing."

Nodding, he put the flute to his mouth again, and began to play. This time, the tune started cheerful. But after a while, it changed again, becoming soft and sad. He stopped suddenly, and I realized he was shaking. I turned to him to see tears slowly running down his face and onto his leather vest. He was sobbing, the carved flute falling to his lap with his hands, which curled into balls.

"Hicc?" I asked. "What's the matter? You okay?"

He took a hand and rubbed it across his face, wiping tears on his green sleeve. He nodded, and after a couple moments of sniffling, he put the flute against his lips and began to play again. I recognized the tune this time. I had heard him play it before. Then, to my surprise, he began singing. It was the same tune.

 _"My father told me something that happened once, so long ago..._

 _Up where there was wind and sun, green grass and white snow._

 _I believed his every word, he was a wise old man._

 _He would tell me everything about this ancient land."_

He paused, starting to cry again, but only slightly.

 _"People saw the sun each day, saw the cloudy sky._

 _And they would greet each other as they passed by._

 _Oceans blue, and mountains great, fields of flowers too,_

 _If someday I reached it, I'd come back and tell everything to you._

 _Then someday we'll live up there, in that wonderland._

 _You and me can live in peace, heart to heart and hand in hand."_

He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

"My father taught me that one after he recovered from the battle of the Red death." Hiccup stated. "The day he gave me this flute. I never forgot it. I wonder if he'd sing it with me?"

I scooted closer. "I'm sure he would if he were here." I agreed. "I bet he's proud."

Hiccup nodded. "I've come a long way from being Hiccup the Useless, haven't I?" He mumbled. "Now I'm Hiccup the fatherless. Hiccup the legless. Hiccup- Hiccup the creator. Hiccup the lonely flute player. The inventor. Hiccup the tortured."

"Hey, stop that." I snorted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What have I told you about beating yourself up?"

"Not to."

"That's right. You're twenty-two now, Hicc. You've come a long way. So stop the self-punishment, others have done it to you enough, and all of them were wrong. All of them were stupid."

"Present company included?" Hiccup teased softly, surprising me. Amusement lit up in his eyes.

I nodded, giving him a nudge. "Don't worry, I paid for it." I mumbled.

He laughed softly. We went silent for a while, relaxing as the sun set.

"I miss my father." Hiccup said softly.

"I miss him too." I agreed, pressing myself next to Hiccup to comfort him. "He was a great man."

We went silent for the longest time yet. The sun set on the horizon, the brilliant reds and oranges of the sky turning to indigo and black, stars peeking out in the shadows.

"So," Hiccup said at length, breaking the silence and crickets and distant frogs. "How's being Chief?"

"Tough." I thought over the last couple of days. "Just because it's summer doesn't make it any easier. It seems like everyone has a problem that only I can fix. And sometimes it seems there is no solution to anything." I facepalmed, heaving a huge sigh.

"Today was tougher than usual, I gather?" Hiccup asked, raising a brow.

"Ugh, you have no idea." I growled frustratedly. "You know Hoark?"

"I'm familiar with him." Hiccup snorted.

"Him and old man Mildew got into a huge dispute, if you can call it that, over whether Mildew's cabbages were edible, and Hoark suggested Mildew use AI to help him harvest. He has a lot of work to do on them, but as usual, he refuses to work with the "mechanical monstrosities". So, I had to step in and try to mediate."

Hiccup let out a long groan. "I can only imagine how that went."

I nodded. "Yup. Badly. The best it got was when Mildew called me and Hoark "a couple of disrespectful machine kissing idiots"."

"And you let him get away with that remark?" Hiccup asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I did. Inferno didn't." I snickered despite myself. "He came up with one of the most interesting insults I've heard yet."

"Does it include profanity?" Hiccup asked.

"Yup. But I'll sensor it for you." I joked softly, nudging Hiccup. "He called Mildew a "doggone cabbage munching dadgum crickety old codgery coot"."

Hiccup broke out into laughter, a happy, deeply amused laugh, that had him shaking and crying with joy. I was caught off guard. I rarely heard Hiccup laugh, even on his best days. There were few things that made him truly laugh. He continued for a while, and even when I thought he had finished, he giggled a couple of times.

"I didn't think Inferno had that in him." Hiccup chuckled.

"Neither did I." I agreed, laughing a little myself.

With Hiccup cheered up, the rest of the time we spent talking was much more cheerful than my entire week had been. We only left when the moon was right over our heads, too tired to stay up any longer.

I walked home in the dead of night, much happier than I had been for a while. It had been a whole year since Stoick's death, and the start of my Chiefdom. Hiccup spent most of his time with Toothless in the forge, tinkering. Either that, or going for flights. He had made a new bunch of upgrades for Toothless lately. I had the rough job of keeping this poor little village together in all times, good and bad.

And lately. we had been lucky enough to have a long year of peace since Viggo's defeat.

How long it would last, I could only guess.

I could hope for a good few more years, at least.

Or maybe more.

At least I had Hiccup, my friend, my brother, and one of the brightest rays of hope that has ever existed.

Maybe it was enough for me.


	39. (Bonus) Breaking

I clutched onto Inferno's back, wave after wave of frustration coursing through me. Why didn't Hiccup get it? I knew he was a peaceful person, who at heart never wanted to hurt anyone. But sometimes you had to fight even when you didn't want to. Sometimes you had to fight to protect innocent lives.

But still, he refused to see what was right in front of him.

Drago wanted to destroy lives. He couldn't be reasoned with. We _had_ to fight. There weren't a lot of other options. I let out a long groan and buried myself further into Inferno, trusting him to fly us well.

Suddenly I felt something wrap around us. It tangled itself around us, pinning me to Inferno's neck and causing us both to let out cries of alarm. We were falling. We hit the ground with a thump, and were soon surrounded by huge hulking shadows. I struggled for all I was worth, letting out curses.

Inferno screeched angrily and almost forgot I was next to him, he started to light himself ablaze. He caught himself and stopped, snarling murderously.

I froze when I caught sight of the most shadowy figure yet came into view. Everyone else froze too, moving back from this new man as if touching him would kill them. He stepped forward heavily, and he seemed like a shadow himself, causing the light around him to back away as if the sun itself was afraid of touching him. He stopped only a foot from Inferno's head, and stared with cold, merciless eyes over us, combing every detail. His eyes stopped and rested on me.

I shuddered.

His mouth twisted into a horrible grin.

"Well, well, well." The huge shadow man growled. "What do we have here? Someone riding one of them?" He pulled out a huge bull-hook and cut the ropes around me, and I immediately stood. Inferno stood too, wrapping himself around me and growling.

To my surprise, the shadow man growled back. Inferno shrunk a little. The shadow man turned to me.

"Who are you?" He growled.

I stood a little higher, holding myself up and meeting those cold, heartless eyes.

"Richard Hamish." I said defiantly. "And this is Inferno."

The shadow man's hand snapped up and wrapped around my neck, pulling me up. He stared me in the eyes, seeming to stare into my soul. I wiggled, trying to get free of his grip and even landing a couple of kicks. His grip only tightened, causing my lungs to burn and spots to fill my vision. I stopped fighting. I began to shiver with fear but hid it behind anger.

"You belong to me now." The man snarled, his eyes glinting coldly. "You are mine. You belong to Drago Bludvist."

I spat at him and tried to struggle again. He threw me to the ground and hit my back with his bull-hook. The sound of cold metal hitting flesh rang out, causing the men around us to wince backwards. I let out a cry of pain and tried to hide it behind gritted teeth. I hope he hadn't _broken_ anything.

I tried to get up, and Inferno snarled at Drago, moving forward and wrapping himself around me. Some men came forward and tackled him at Drago's command, trying to tie him up. Inferno struggled for all he was worth, roaring defiantly and even lighting himself ablaze. Even he couldn't fight forever, and eventually, they began to drag him away. I called out to him, and he called back.

"Inferno!" I tried to get to him, only to be held back by Drago himself.

"Richard!" Inferno yelled back, giving a few more struggles against his binds. "No!"

All the while, Drago smirked, finding our pain amusing. He pulled me back almost effortlessly, and my struggles got weaker when I realized Inferno was gone.

And I might never see him again.

* * *

I awoke with a powerful headache in a cell, my hands and feet binded. Once the initial shock of waking up again was gone, I began struggling and writhing in the ropes, trying over and over to get out of them. Hours later, I had gotten nowhere, and the only things I had achieved were rope burnt wrists and exhaustion. I let out a loud moan of frustration.

"No! I have to get out! I have to go back! I-! I-!" I broke out into sobs, shaking. "No..."

I was trapped.

Absolutely trapped.

I went silent after a while, pondering how in the heck I was going to escape. My stomach growled, and I was starting to wonder if they'd feed me. My back was throbbing painfully, reminding me of Drago's bull-hook slamming into me. After what seemed like days, or some even longer and more maddening length of time, my cell door was flung open. A figure wearing more armor than furs grabbed me roughly and forced me along through the dank hallways. I had no choice but to go along. No escape. Dim light turned to grayish blue light as I was brought above ground out of the cell. For the first time, I saw where I was.

Tanks. Giant tanks, connected by metal bridges that could be pulled back in seconds. There were traps of every conceivable size and shape, made for AI. There were rows upon rows of cages, filled with AI of many descriptions. There were many, many catapults designed to throw nets and arrows. AI flew around, or worked on the ground in chains, burdened by excessive armor. There were many people, also burdened with armor, or some chains.

It was a prison.

A base.

An army and armada.

All in one, and ready to switch between them at a moment's notice. I was brought along, from tank to tank, toward the most massive one in the center. On it stood Drago. He turned and regarded me with those cold eyes, a small smirk appearing. Well, a sort of twisted smirk that made me wince.

"Well," He growled, taking huge strides forward until he towered over me. "Have you thought about your little defiance problem? I assume you're going to be more obedient and cooperative now."

"Never." I hissed, glaring up at him the best I could.

His eyes seemed to glow with a new evil. His grimacing smile increased. "Good. I could use some entertainment." He slammed me in the stomach with his bull-hook, causing me to collapse to the ground in pain. Spots filled my vision again, and my back hurt all the more. Every muscle screamed with protest.

He motioned, and several men dragged in a huge wheeled cart of some kind, with a chained and roped Inferno on it. He looked as though he could barely move. The moment he saw me, he began to struggle violently again, even though there was no way he could get to me, despite all his strength. He lit himself ablaze, screeching and struggling. Drago watched, amused, as his men struggled to get the AI under control, pulling him closer and closer to us. As soon as he was close enough, Drago motioned for the men to get back.

"Drop the ropes." He advanced the few steps to Inferno and pulled out that cruel bull-hook. "We'll see how this defiant little brat thinks of this."

My eyes went from narrow to wide when I realized what he was going to do.

"NO!" My voice echoed along the tanks. "DON'T!"

Drago lifted the bull-hook right next to Inferno's head. I knew what this was. He wanted me to obey, or lose Inferno forever. Tears moved down my cheeks, despite me fighting them back. I met Inferno's eyes, he was angry, but begging me not to fold. Not to break under Drago. To fight. But...

To have my friend gone forever? I knew from Hiccup that AI were not replaceable. They weren't disposable. Inferno had saved me and displayed emotion so many times that I knew without a doubt that I couldn't let him be killed just for me. I didn't want to do that. I couldn't go on without him. I tried to think of what Hiccup would do.

Of course he would do anything to spare Toothless.

And so would I.

My defiance died. My spirit faded. I felt a new pain, a numbing anger, a frustrated tingle. With reluctance and my eyes burning with fury, I bowed my head. Drago grinned nastily, meeting my eyes. I knew what was next. A life of slavery for both me and Inferno. I had thought that perhaps it was better to die free than live a slave. But I wasn't willing to have Inferno die and be free myself.

Drago tilted his head back and laughed evilly, a throaty, hoarse cackle. He took his bull-hook and hit Inferno hard on one of his horns. The clang of metal rang out. Inferno winced slightly as his horn dented. I winced too. I had just done exactly what Drago wanted.

And it wasn't going to get better.

* * *

Torture. Whips. Chains. Bull-hook.

Questions.

Who are you allied with?

Where are they?

Not giving answers at first.

Torture.

Half truths.

Whips. Smart remark. Whips. Chains.

No answers.

Anger. Fury. Whips. Whips.

Giving up. Quitting. No answers. No talking. No eating. No drinking. Nothing. Numbness. Chains. Cell. Walls.

This is my life.

* * *

I awoke for the millionth time in the cell. It hadn't changed a bit. In the past few weeks had been the roughest time of my life. Or was it weeks? I had no clue. Time didn't seem to pass. It was just one long torture session. I had managed to hold out on a lot of info Drago wanted from me.

But he was growing impatient.

And I was useless to him. I knew what happened to those who served Drago no purpose.

I let out a sigh, and with the slight shift of muscles and skin came agonizing pain. Spots filled my vision. I held still as best I could, but every _breath_ was as painful as the whips I had come too familiar with. And I was starving. They barely fed me. My body could barely move, the chains almost had no effect. Every one of my limbs was sore and pounding, as was my head. I could feel stings on every inch of my back.

The door opened with a rusty metal creak. Drago stalked forward, his dead horrible eyes staring straight into mine. I didn't hang my head at first, trying to maintain a spark of defiance. Drago noticed and growled dangerously. I immediately winced and bowed my head. I stayed as still as I could, but my body began to quiver against my will, shaking. I was terrified of him.

And he knew it. Drago moved until we were inches apart. I dared to look up just enough to look into his eyes. He slammed his bull-hook, that stupid bull-hook, so so close to me, so close it would have punctured my skull a few inches to the right. I was sweating. A figure appeared in the doorway, I hardly noticed.

"Sir? What-" The other man started.

Drago motioned to me. "Take him to be whipped again. Then deliver him to me. I will break him once and for all."

* * *

Eret, that smug man Hiccup and me had met at a hunter's base, presented me, freshly whipped, panting, tied, and bleeding, on my knees to Drago a few hours later. I stared straight ahead, trying again to ground myself in some reality. My mind felt as though it was slipping, numb. I hardly heard Drago's heavy footsteps as he approached. It wasn't until I heard the familiar noise of a bull-hook slamming into something close by that I snapped to attention, taking gasping breaths and trying to calm my speeding heart, which was slamming against my rib-cage with every beat.

"Submit to me now." Drago growled.

I remained still, trying not to wince or back down. I had tried to hold on to what made me whole as much as I could throughout this experience. Why was I still trying? I was stubborn. I was past weakening, but I held myself as I as I could. Drago kicked me in the stomach, causing agony, and white spots in my vision. I went blind with pain for a moment, and I couldn't breathe.

"Submit." He repeated.

"No-" I wheezed, my voice barely leaving my lips.

Another kick. My body screamed in pain, and I fell over, gasping with more agony. I could hardly breathe, trying to right myself and failing, trying desperately to get up. With shaking limbs, I tried desperately to right myself, only to slam painfully to the ground. I tried again, but this time, nothing responded. I felt as though I was tied up, or made of stone. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think. Every inch of me begged for mercy and was getting none. I felt my empty stomach, beyond sore from being kicked and tormented. If there had been something in there, I would have lost it. It was all I could do to fight down tears.

"SUBMIT." Drago repeated again, this time forcing the word so harshly that it hurt my ears. No, I wanted to say. I wanted to scream. I wanted so badly to scream my defiance at the top of my lungs at this madman, this horrible, heartless, soulless slave driver. But it wouldn't leave my lips. Days of torture, starvation, whipping, and thirst, hour after hour of being forced down into submission, agonizing, never ending seconds being rendered helpless had finally taken its toll.

I was done.

I could not fight any longer.

I held still, frozen as defeat washed over me.

I was through.

Drago seemed to sense my submission immediately, like a shark smelling blood, or a vulture swooping on a carcass. He grinned with the satisfaction of breaking me. He pounced like a hungry lion, picking me up by the front of my shirt with one hand.

"You belong to me." He growled.

I couldn't do anything but stare into those dead eyes.


	40. (Bonus) Broken chip, twisted leg

I opened my eyes, confused. When did I fall asleep? Why did my head hurt? I stared around as my vision swam, befuddled.

"What the...?"

I managed, with difficulty and pain, to sit up, and checked myself over. Everything came rushing back. Toothless and me had flown, only for his tail to malfunction and we had crashed into a tree. I looked around to find myself on the ground, and looked around.

"Toothless?"

"¡Aquí!" A response came. I blinked. It sounded like Toothless, but... I looked up and behind me to the source of the voice to see Toothless in the tree behind me, tangled in branches. He looked irritated. If this wasn't such a serious situation, I'd be laughing. I stood, only to immediately fall when agony zipped through my right leg. "¿Estás bien, hipo?" Toothless yelped, thrashing in the tree. I sat more carefully, looking at my leg. It was twisted.

"Well, great." I looked back up at the AI in the tree. "Toothless! I can't walk, I'll need you to get back to the village!"

Toothless snorted with frustration and tried all the harder to get himself untangled. He eventually managed to get himself free, landing ungracefully on the ground. "Ay..." He grunted, pulling himself up and moving over to me. He nosed me, looking concerned. "Tu pierna, está retorcida. Eso no puede ser bueno." I froze, staring at him.

"Toothless... you're not speaking English." He froze, looking equally bewildered.

"¿Qué? ¿No soy?" I sighed softly.

"Your processer must have been hit in the crash. Can you understand me?"

Toothless nodded. "Sí." I stopped.

"Wait, that's Spanish! I remember reading about it! You said yes!" Toothless rolled his eyes and muttered something. "I need every advantage I can get, bud. Now, help me up, we need to get back." Toothless lowered his neck and I managed to pull myself, with difficulty, onto his back. He then turned and began walking to the village. I stared back at the fin, strangely held back as if something, a cord, perhaps had snapped. Just another thing I'd have to fix, probably after my leg was treated. I sighed and drooped myself onto Toothless, relaxing as he walked.

"Hiccup, comment sera-ce difficile de me réparer? Tirez, j'ai oublié que vous ne pouvez pas comprendre ..." Toothless stated as we walked. Or was that a question? I was confused, it didn't sound like Spanish. It sounded like... French! I grinned, happy for once that learning French was paying off. Toothless had asked how hard it would have been to fix him. And he had cut himself off, remembering his language problem. I could hardly hold back my grin.

"It shouldn't be too hard, I just have to figure out if it's the language chip itself or the connector to your processor is damaged, and then replace the chip if it's damaged or fix the processor if it's the problem."

Toothless looked back at me, surprised, and then happy.

"Tu parle français? C'est génial! Tu ne m'as jamais dit ça!"

"I'm full of surprises, bud."

* * *

I had learned French, but not whatever Toothless was speaking now. Which didn't help my mood much. Richard had noticed my leg immediately. And now I was in the healer's hut, on his chiefly orders to rest and relax. Fish had offered to try to fix Toothless for me, but I didn't want anyone else's hands messing with my friend's brain. So, I sat on a soft bed, tea in hands, while Toothless asked something in this foreign language, testing if it would go back to normal. It was sort of amusing finding out what other things were programmed on his chip.

"Ég vildi að þetta myndi enda þegar ég er þreyttur á þessu!" He exclaimed. I sat there, turning some words around in my head, trying to analyse the language.

"Hmm. Sounds like... something...ah. Probably Icelandic. A language of the north, and quite a nice one, as well. I remember some of the history I studied on that. And dad used to tell me books were useless." I chuckled. Toothless regarded me with a flat stare. "Sorry bud. It's just... this sure has been a rotten day, you need maintenance, and I can't give you any. It's frustrating."

"Hafa fiskur það, þá! Að minnsta kosti gætum við talað rétt!" Toothless barked.

"Can't understand you, bud." I mumbled halfheartedly.

"Ah, sprengja það allt! Þú veist hvað ég er að reyna að segja þér! Bara ..." Toothless began motioning wildly, standing on his hind legs and holding his claws to his face like glasses. "Fiskur! Fiskur! Nerd drengur! Blast, hvað heitir hann!"

"Fish?" I asked, and Toothless nodded exaggeratedly. I sighed. "I'm more familiar with your circuitry, bud. I don't want someone else messing with you. I'm afraid I'll lose you."

Toothless sighed and turned to pouting in the corner. "Ich weiß, aber ich mag es nicht."

I sighed. Toothless had shifted language again. It sounded like German, based on the way he spoke it. I sighed. When would this end?

* * *

It was a long few days that it took for Hiccup's twisted ankle to be strong enough to stand on. I noticed my friend's growing frustration, along with Toothless' irritation at their lack of communication. The language seemed to shift at random, and the two were grounded and bored just before winter. As soon as Hiccup was strong enough to walk, he was in his forge-house again, working to solve the problem. I figured I'd go visit when my chiefing duties weren't as pressing. I found an opportunity after lunch and wandered toward the forge. As I came close, I heard a clatter of noise and picked up speed.

"...it Toothless! Just... just hold still, I know you want to go flying, just-" Another clatter. "Toothless!" I peeked in to see an antsy Toothless running around the shop, his head cover pried off and Hiccup limping after him, trying to get him to stop moving. "What is wrong with you, bud?"

"Det gör ont! Jag vill inte sitta, jag kan inte ta det längre! Fixa min svans först så att vi kan flyga! " Toothless barked.

"I can't understand you bud, now for the last time, would you just sit down!" Hiccup wheezed, then he slipped over an obstacle on the floor that Toothless must have knocked down. I zipped in and caught him before he could hurt his foot again.

"Gotcha." I said, holding him upright.

"Thanks, Richard. I don't understand what Toothless' problem is."

Toothless, who was sitting on the other side of the room, stuck his tongue out. Hiccup returned the gesture, then sighed and sat down on the counter, rubbing his left leg, just above the prosthetic.

"Phantom pain?" I asked, sitting beside him.

"Yeah, no kidding. This goofball's been making me run around, and on my metal leg, since I don't want to make my right one worse. My stump is killing me." Hiccup grumbled. I smiled gently and gave him an awkward side hug. I looked over at Toothless, who still looked agitated.

"Hey, buddy. What's the matter?" Toothless turned to me and grunted softly.

"Jag vill bara flyga." He grumbled. He then stopped for a moment and flapped his wings slightly. Hiccup suddenly seemed to understand.

"Oh, you want to fly first." Toothless nodded, widening his pupils and trying to look pleading. Hiccup sighed. "I just want to fix your language chip so we can communicate, bud. Can you hold still long enough?"

Toothless let out a whine and pawed at the side of his head in response. "Det gör ont." He mumbled. Hiccup stood and walked over, carefully avoiding the stuff on the floor.

"I'll do it as quick as possible, then we can sort out the worn fin cord, okay bud? Then we'll fly, I promise." Hiccup smiled and placed his hand over Toothless nose, which seemed to calm his friend. I was amazed again at how alive Toothless seemed. The AI nodded, and gently nuzzled Hiccup in response before sitting still as Hiccup gently unscrewed and disconnected the damaged language chip, then removing it from Toothless. He walked into the back room and came back a moment later with a new one, which he put back in place and screwed back in, then connected. Toothless was wincing the entire time, and I wondered if he felt pain akin to someone having brain surgery.

"There we go." Hiccup mumbled. "That wasn't so bad, now was it, big baby boo?"

Toothless shot Hiccup a flat stare and grumbled.

"A volte mi frustrano." Hiccup looked confused.

"That shouldn't happen, that's a new one. That's weird." Maybe if I-"

"Just kidding." Toothless smirked, smacking Hiccup playfully with his tail. "This one's different, I think I can actually switch languages on my own." Toothless mumbled as an afterthought, looking thoughtful. Then he smirked again, looking like he was about to have fun. "I'm going to learn a lot from this one." Hiccup stiffened with alarm.

"Toothless, no." The AI turned to me.

"Hey Richard! Do you know any French?" He grinned, looking cheeky. I felt a similar amount of alarm to Hiccup rather suddenly.

"Uh... no." I said softly. "I don't know any French."

Toothless' grin increased. "Ha. J'ai l'avantage maintenant, chouette chef!" Hiccup face-palmed so hard that I thought for a moment he had tried to hurt himself.

"Toothless..."

"D'accord, tout d'abord, monsieur, j'ai toujours pensé que vous aviez un goût très bizarre à la mode." Toothless exclaimed, staring right at me. Hiccup looked exasperated.

"Let's just fix your tail." Toothless nodded and sat down, grinning cheekily at me. I felt insulted somehow.

"What did he say about me?" I asked. Hiccup sighed as he got on his knees and pulled at the busted fin. He grabbed Toothless fin and pulled the flap right out of the tail, and I couldn't help but peek down at the incredible workmanship. There was some sort of locking mechanism inside the tail, which corresponded to the flap itself. Cords ran from the inside of the tail itself into the base of the fin, which from there spread into five long ribs of varying lengths, with black fireproof rubber spread along it and held in place. It was such an incredible design. As Hiccup poked at it, he sighed again.

"He said you have a weird fashion taste." My friend mumbled, pulling at the cord. I was taken aback.

"He said what?" I squawked, staring at Toothless. He continued his grinning. I sniffed and pretended to be insulted. I then peeked down at Hiccup's work. He had unhooked the fin from the tail's cord with nimble fingers, and set it on the table.

"Let's see..." He mumbled, moving across the room and grabbing a device I couldn't guess the purpose of. Hiccup pushed the end of the small screwdriver sized object into the fin's input and pressed the button. The fin jerked open for a moment with the electricity moving through it. Hiccup then held down the button, and the fin held open for a moment before moving back. "That's not right..." He continued his muttering and began to pull a red wire out of the tail. It looked damaged. "Bingo." My friend said to himself, then turned and disappeared into the back room. He returned with a new wire. He replaced the wire incredibly quickly, then used the shocking device again to activate the tail. It stayed open.

"Is that good?" I asked. Hiccup turned a beaming smile to me, then grabbed the fin to reattach it to Toothless. As soon as he had it back in place, Toothless began to get excited.

"Can I fly now?" He asked.

"Test it first." Hiccup instructed. "I don't want it failing mid-flight again." Toothless obeyed, twitching the tail-fins back and forth, up and down. He must have cycled through the different positions a couple times, because Hiccup looked satisfied. "That should do it. Prends le ciel, mon ami mécanique." He motioned to the door. When Toothless blinked at him, Hiccup broke out laughing. "Go fly." He wheezed in between laughing, motioning to the door with one hand. Toothless offered him a big goofy grin before turning and dashing out the door, unable to take being on the ground cooped up a moment longer. I heard a happy whoop from through the window as he took off into the sky. I turned to Hiccup as my friend began to clean up his mess.

"Do I really have weird fashion taste?" I motioned to my clothes.

Hiccup snorted and picked up a sheet of metal that Toothless had knocked over.

"Maybe." He joked. I sniffed.

"Really? Leather and a red tunic with dark blue pants is weird? Come on. Toothless doesn't understand fashion. He doesn't have to. He lives with you." Hiccup shot me a look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, pausing in his clean up. I put on my best innocent face.

"Says the guy who wears the weirdest outfit ever when he flies." I pointed out. Hiccup pretended to pout and looked over at his ridiculously expensive belt and leather heavy flight suit, which was hanging on a hook in the corner. "That thing is beyond fashion." I continued. Hiccup had that look on his face. The 'I'm about to explain all the benefits of this thing I made because you don't seem to understand my inventions' look. I decided to leave my friend to his mess.

"Richard, my flight suit is a very functional outfit-" He began.

"Gotta go!" I grinned and moved out the door. "Have fun with your mess!" The last thing I heard before I was out of earshot was "Thanks for nothing!"


End file.
